Tolle allowed one unearned run on three hits while striking out four over three relief innings in Thursday's 5-3 loss to the Athletics.
Tolle, who last pitched eight days ago, made his first appearance as a reliever after the team announced Wednesday that the left-hander would be shifting to the bullpen. Boston manager Alex Cora gave starter Brayan Bello the hook after 70 pitches and four innings, as the Red Sox have slipped and are just 1.5 games ahead of the surging Guardians for the final wild-card spot. Tolle didn't get any help from Trevor Story, who committed two errors in the game.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Wednesday that Tolle will be used out of the bullpen for the remainder of the season, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
Connelly Early is remaining in the rotation and Kyle Harrison will join the rotation this weekend, leaving Tolle to fill a relief role the rest of the way. All three of Tolle's appearances for the Red Sox to this point have come as a starter, and he's posted a 7.84 ERA and 12:6 K:BB over 10.1 innings.
Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Appears pegged for bulk relief
Rotowire
The Red Sox could use Tolle in a bulk-relief role over the final two weeks of the regular season, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
Tolle made an abbreviated start last week versus the Athletics, allowing two runs over two innings. Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello have both been moved up ahead of Tolle to start Wednesday and Thursday against the Athletics, respectively, on regular rest. While Tolle could conceivably receive another start this weekend versus the Rays, a more likelier scenario is that both he and Kyle Harrison serve as multi-inning relievers or work as a tandem when the fifth spot in the rotation comes up. Tolle struck out eight and yielded just two runs over 5.1 frames in his major-league debut Aug. 29, but he's permitted seven runs with a 4:4 K:BB across five innings in two outings since then.
Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Struggles in abbreviated start
Rotowire
Tolle allowed two runs on three hits and struck out two over two innings in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Athletics.
The plan was for Tolle to make an abbreviated start -- one time through the order -- after he threw three troubled innings (77 pitches) in his previous start Friday. Working on four days' rest. Tolle was touched for a home run in both innings, and the rookie has allowed four long balls in his last five innings. Teams appear to be sitting on Tolle's fastball, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. He's thrown fastballs 55.7 percent of the time, and cutters (a fastball variant) 24.7 percent of the time.
Red Sox's Payton Tolle: In line for abbreviated start
Rotowire
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that Tolle will make an abbreviated start in Wednesday's game against the Athletics in Sacramento, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
Over the weekend, Cora had said that Tolle would be part of the pitching plan for Wednesday's game, though the rookie wasn't in line to start. Cora has since opted to have Tolle make a start in the series finale, though the left-hander will handle a restricted workload since he'll be pitching on four days' rest for the first time all season. The Red Sox will recall Kyle Harrison from Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday, and he could end up piggybacking Tolle in the contest. Through his first two MLB starts, Tolle has struck out 10 over 8.1 innings but has given up seven earned runs on eight hits and six walks.
Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Not starting, could pitch Wednesday
Rotowire
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that Tolle won't start Wednesday's game against the Athletics in Sacramento but could still factor into the team's pitching plan that day, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.
Because Tolle has typically been pitching on at least five days' rest this season and is coming off a poor showing Friday against the Diamondbacks in which he surrendered five earned runs over three innings, the rookie won't be asked to handle a traditional starting role when his turn in the rotation comes up Wednesday. The Red Sox could still use Tolle as a multi-inning reliever behind an opener Wednesday, but the 22-year-old lefty was still likely have his pitch count monitored carefully in that scenario.
Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Second start goes off rails
Rotowire
Tolle (0-1) allowed five runs on five hits and four walks while striking out two over three innings to take the loss Friday versus the Diamondbacks.
Tolle fell behind early when he gave up a solo home run to Geraldo Perdomo in the first inning. He then allowed Jordan Lawlar to score on a wild pitch in the second before Ildemaro Vargas lifted a three-run homer in the third. Tolle's second start was obviously a disappoint compared to his encouraging MLB debut versus the Pirates last week. He's now allowed seven runs with a 10:6 K:BB across 8.1 innings. Tolle has gotten at least five days of rest between every start this season, so the Red Sox may need to incorporate a sixth starter or bullpen days down the stretch if they intend to keep him on that schedule.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that Tolle will start Friday's game against the Diamondbacks in Arizona, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.
Tolle would have been available to take the hill Wednesday against the Guardians on four days' rest, but because he's received at least five days of rest ahead of every appearance this season, the Red Sox weren't yet ready to deviate from that plan. Cora said that the Red Sox envision Tolle continuing to start games in September, so it looks like he'll be a regular part of the rotation moving forward after turning in a promising MLB debut this past Friday against the Pirates. In that outing, Tolle punched out eight batters and induced 14 swinging strikes on 84 pitches while limiting the Pirates to two earned runs on three hits and two walks over 5.1 innings.
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