Red Sox
“It was incredible. I came off the mound after the first [inning] and I couldn’t feel my feet.”
The first half of Friday’s game between the Red Sox and Pirates was something out of a storybook for Boston.
Twenty-two-year-old left-handed pitcher Payton Tolle, the Red Sox’ top-ranked prospect, made his Major League debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates and their own stud starting pitcher Paul Skenes. Tolle looked outstanding, recording eight strikeouts through 5 ⅓ innings of work. Roman Anthony hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning to break the scoreless tie.
Skenes wasn’t his sharpest, but Anthony got the best of him to give Boston an early lead. Skenes, who could very well win the National League Cy Young Award, tied a career-high seven hits allowed. But, he did toss six innings and strike out six.
Tolle walked off the mound in the sixth with a 2-0 lead and a standing ovation from a Fenway Park crowd that is seemingly already in love with the 6-foot-6, 250-pound southpaw. His fastball, his dominance on the mound, and his energy made it easy for fans to get up for the rookie.
However, he left runners on first and second base as Greg Weissert relieved him out of the bullpen. Within Weissert’s first three pitches, former Red Sox Tommy Pham doubled to plate those two runs and knot the game at two runs apiece. Those runs were tacked on to Tolle’s ERA, tainting his otherwise stellar stat line.
Shortly after, Andrew McCutchen gave his Pirates a 3-2 lead with a RBI double of his own. Pittsburgh never looked back and scored another run in the eighth on a tag play that ended up being overturned in their favor to bring the score to 4-2.
Boston may have had its four-game winning streak snapped Friday, but Tolle’s excellence helped ease the blow. His fastball, which is as advertised (96.2 MPH average velocity), kept the Pirates’ lineup at bay and often made the Fenway crowd roar.
Tolle spoke with reporters after the game about his first MLB outing, noting feelings of numbness and elation.
“It was incredible. I came off the mound after the first [inning] and I couldn’t feel my feet,” Tolle said with a laugh. “It was the greatest experience of my life. It was the greatest atmosphere in baseball. I was very proud of it. I’ll look back on this day for a long time, just thinking about this moment.”
With his eight strikeouts, he became the first Red Sox pitcher to record eight or more punch-outs in their MLB debut since Daisuke Matsuzaka in 2007 (10).
Boston manager Alex Cora had nothing but great things to say about Tolle after his debut.
“Electric,” Cora said of Tolle. “He competes, that’s the first thing. He enjoys the game. And on the mound, that was impressive. The command was good and he did an outstanding job for us.”
“His stuff plays and we’re trying to win as many games as possible,” Cora also said. “He’s part of this. I’m just happy that he’s here.”
Tolle is indeed here, and it appears he’s here to stay. The Red Sox released Walker Buehler to make room for Tolle on the active roster Friday. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said he expects Tolle to meaningfully contribute to the team down the stretch as a starter.
Tolle has only pitched in one MLB game, but his outing was extremely promising. With him in the rotation alongside Garrett Crochet, Brayan Bello, and Lucas Giolito, Boston could be a formidable opponent as it vies for a playoff spot for the first time in four years.
“I think people are gonna like him in this town. Pretty polite kid … accountable,” Cora said. “It was a great night for us. It sucked that we didn’t win, but the overall picture, that was a step forward for the organization.”
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