Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Tosses six scoreless innings
Rotowire
Tolle (5-6) earned the win Tuesday against the White Sox, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out six over six scoreless innings.
Tolle threw 60 of his 91 pitches for strikes and generated 15 whiffs. After Boston handed him a lead in the second inning, the left-hander retired 15 of the final 16 batters he faced. It was a strong bounce-back performance after he was tagged for six runs over three innings in his previous start against Washington. Tolle now owns a 3.14 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 80:24 K:BB across 80.1 innings and is tentatively scheduled to make one more start before the All-Star break against the Mets.
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Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Chased early by Nats
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Tolle (4-6) took the loss Wednesday as the Red Sox were routed 10-2 by the Nationals, coughing up six runs on seven hits and three walks over three-plus innings. He struck out five.
Four of the hits off Tolle went for extra bases, including a first-inning homer by Andres Chaparro and a fourth-inning blast by Nasim Nunez -- with both long balls being their first of the season. It's the first time since May 28 that the southpaw has failed to last at least five innings, and Wednesday's outing was his shortest of the year. Tolle will take a 3.39 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 74:23 K:BB through 74.1 innings into his next start, which is scheduled to come on the road early next week against the White Sox.
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Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Dazzles during win
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Tolle (4-5) earned the win Friday against the Yankees, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out seven batters over seven shutout innings.
Tolle took a perfect game into the sixth inning, but his bid at history came to an end when Spencer Jones blooped a single into left field with one away in the frame. The Yankees managed two more baserunners in the seventh, but none were able to score on Tolle, who had his best stuff working Friday. His win snaps a streak of three consecutive losses, and he'll carry a 2.78 ERA and 1.02 WHIP into his start against the Nationals next week.
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Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Fans six in Tuesday's loss
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Tolle (3-4) took the loss Tuesday, giving up three runs on four hits and two walks over five innings as the Red Sox fell 6-1 to the Blue Jays. He struck out six.
The southpaw didn't pitch poorly but served up his first homers in a month, as Davis Schneider and Andres Gimenez both took him deep for solo shots in the fifth inning. Through 10 starts since his promotion in late April, Tolle has delivered a 2.93 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 60:16 K:BB over 58.1 innings and has helped stabilize a Boston rotation that's currently missing Garrett Crochet (shoulder), Tanner Houck (elbow), Patrick Sandoval (bicep) and other starting options. Tolle lines up to make his next start on the road this weekend in Seattle.
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Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Gives up four runs in loss
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Tolle (3-3) took the loss against Tampa Bay on Tuesday, allowing four runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out three across six innings.
Tolle allowed at least three baserunners in three of his six innings, with three of the runs he yielded coming on three straight hits in the fourth. He pitched into the sixth and was one out away from his sixth quality start of the season, but those hopes were dashed by an RBI single from Richie Palacios. The nine hits are the most Tolle has allowed in a major-league start, and the 23-year-old southpaw sits at a 2.70 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 54:14 K:BB across 53.1 innings this season. He's lined up to face the Blue Jays at Fenway Park next week.
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Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Six shutout innings in third win
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Tolle (3-2) earned the win Wednesday against the Orioles, allowing no runs on seven hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out five.
Tolle danced around plenty of pressure Wednesday, throwing just one clean inning on the evening, but he still managed to deliver his second scoreless start of the campaign. The 23-year-old left-hander is showing great improvement at keeping the ball in the yard this year, serving up just three home runs over 47.1 innings after giving up five across just 16.1 frames last regular season. Tolle will carry an impressive 2.28 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 51:13 K:BB into his next scheduled outing in Tampa Bay against the Rays.
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Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Strikes out nine in quality start
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Tolle did not factor into the decision in Friday's 8-6 loss to the Twins, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks with nine strikeouts over six innings.
Tolle labored through a three-run second inning but was otherwise dominant, generating 15 whiffs on 85 pitches while limiting the Twins to just one extra-base hit. Through six major-league outings this season, the 23-year-old has delivered four quality starts while holding opponents to three earned runs or fewer each time out. He'll take a strong 2.45 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and 39:9 K:BB across 36.2 innings into a tough test at home against Atlanta next week.
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Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Efficient in victory Saturday
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Tolle (2-2) earned the win over Atlanta on Saturday, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out three batters over eight innings.
Both of the runs Tolle allowed came off the bat of Atlanta catcher Drake Baldwin, who swatted a solo homer in the first inning and added an RBI single in fifth. Otherwise, Tolle was very effective and efficient, as he completed eight frames on 85 total pitches. The southpaw recorded just six whiffs and a season-low three punchouts, but that helped him keep his pitch count down. Tolle now has an excellent 2.05 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 30:7 K:BB through 30.2 innings spanning five starts, and he appears to be establishing a permanent foothold in Boston's rotation.
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Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Falls to Tampa
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Tolle (1-2) took the loss Sunday against the Rays, allowing three runs on seven hits over five innings. He struck out four without walking a batter.
The seven hits given up by Tolle on Sunday matched his total allowed across 17.2 innings in his first three starts this season. The left-hander's ERA sits at 2.78 this year with a 0.88 WHIP and 27:6 K:BB over 22.2 innings. Tolle is currently lined up for a tough road matchup in Atlanta his next time out.
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Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Dominates for first MLB win
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Tolle (1-1) earned the win Monday against the Tigers, allowing two unearned runs on one hit and one walk while striking out eight over seven innings.
Tolle was dominant from the start, retiring 15 of the first 16 hitters he faced. The only damage against him came via two unearned runs in the sixth inning after a walk and hit-by-pitch, followed by a throwing error. Otherwise, Tolle was in full command, working efficiently (83 pitches) into the seventh inning for the first time in his career while piling up eight strikeouts. After being denied wins in previous strong outings, the 23-year-old finally secured his first MLB victory and, given this performance, there's no reason he shouldn't see multiple more starts in the rotation. Tolle is scheduled to start against Tampa Bay this weekend.
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Red Sox's Payton Tolle: On standby for potential call-up
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Tolle had a start skipped at Triple-A Worcester over the weekend as part of a contingency plan for the Red Sox, who may need to call him up for a spot start this week, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
The Red Sox didn't need to call up Tolle for their recent four-game set versus the Tigers, but he could be needed as a potential replacement in the rotation for Sonny Gray, who is expected to land on the 15-day injured list after suffering a hamstring injury during his start in Monday's 8-6 win over Detroit. Tolle is the logical candidate to replace Gray, who's next turn through the rotation was set for Saturday in Baltimore.
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Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Deals again at Triple-A
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Tolle allowed three hits and one walk while striking out six over five scoreless innings for Triple-A Worcester in a win over Columbus on Sunday.
Tolle breezed through his third start of the season and broke three Columbus bats in posting a second consecutive win. He was rocked in his first start for the WooSox but has shined since. After giving up six runs (four earned) over four innings in his season debut, the left-hander has allowed two runs (one earned) on seven hits and two walks while striking out 13 over 11 innings in two subsequent outings. Boston's rotation, which had a rough first 10 games to start the season, just completed an encouraging turn, so it doesn't look like Tolle will be heading east to Boston in the short term.
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Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Opening 2026 in minors
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The Red Sox optioned Tolle to minor-league camp Monday, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.
Tolle entered spring training battling with Connelly Early and Johan Oviedo for the fifth spot in the Red Sox's rotation. Tolle showed promise in four Grapefruit League outings, posting a 2.53 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 13:1 K:BB across 10.2 innings. He will likely open the 2026 season with Triple-A Worcester, and while he didn't crack the Red Sox's Opening Day roster, Tolle should see some time in the majors this season when Boston needs an extra arm in the rotation.
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Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Dynamic relief outing
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Tolle allowed one hit and one walk while striking out seven over three innings of relief in Tuesday's spring game against the Yankees.
This was the best of three Grapefruit League outings for Tolle, who entered as a reliever and upped his pitch count reached 44 (28 strikes). It was his second straight relief outing, but he remains in the mix for a rotation spot along with Connelly Early and Johan Oviedo (the frontrunner). Red Sox manager Alex Cora was enthused by the performance and the results of Tolle's curveball, which along with his changeup, could make the fastball play better.
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Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Likely bound for Triple-A
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Tolle is expected to be optioned to Triple-A Worcester to begin the season if frontrunner Johan Oviedo wins the final spot in Boston's rotation, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
Tolle is one of the organization's top prospects and made his MLB debut last year, but he's not likely to secure a place in the Opening Day rotation given how well the Red Sox improved their rotation during the offseason. The improved rotation depth serves an additional purpose for Boston, as it should allow the organization to secure an additional year of service time for Tolle, as long as he spends at least 46 days in the minors this season.
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Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Makes spring debut
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Tolle allowed one run on one hit and struck out one over two innings in Saturday's spring game against the Twins.
Tolle mixed in secondary offerings to kick off the Grapefruit League slate for Boston, which is the team's goal for the left-hander. He added sinkers, curves, changeups, cutters and one slider to the mix among his 20 pitches (13 strikes). The one run allowed came on a Royce Lewis home run off his four-seamer, after he couldn't put the Twins third baseman away with a changeup. Other than that, it was a fine outing for the 23-year-old, who is competing for the final spot in the rotation against Johan Oviedo, Connelly Early and two veterans that didn't throw a pitch in 2025, Kutter Crawford (wrist) and Patrick Sandoval (elbow).
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Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Shifting to bullpen role
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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.
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Red Sox's Payton Tolle: In line for abbreviated start
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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.
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Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Second start goes off rails
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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.
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Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Fans eight in major-league debut
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Tolle did not factor into Friday's decision against the Pirates, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out eight across 5.1 innings.
Though Tolle was facing a Pirates team that entered Friday with the least amount of runs scored in the majors (484), he was also against ace Paul Skenes, so a win was going to be hard to collect in the former's major-league debut. Even so, Tolle rose to the occasion, generating 14 whiffs on 84 pitches (53 strikes) with six of his eight punchouts coming on four-seam fastballs. The 22-year-old southpaw kept the Pirates off the board through the first five innings, but he was pulled from the game in the sixth after allowing two baserunners, both of whom were brought home on a Tommy Pham double. With Richard Fitts (elbow) on the 15-day IL and Walker Buehler being released, Tolle figures to be a part of the Red Sox's rotation for the rest of the regular season. He's slated to start against the Guardians at home next week, when he'll look to earn the first win of his major-league career.
