Payton Tolle Spins A Gem, Earns Win In Career-Best Start
Payton Tolle bested the Atlanta Braves in the best start of his young career.
Payton Tolle Spins A Gem, Earns Win In Career-Best Start originally appeared on NESN . Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here . Payton Tolle is every Boston Red Sox fan's favorite pitcher.
The 23-year-old made his debut in 2025 and started this season in Triple-A Worcester. But after multiple injuries to starting pitchers, the 6-foot-6 left-hander was inserted into the rotation and has been stellar ever since. But Tolle has never been as good as he was on Saturday night when he took on the league's best team, the Atlanta Braves, on their home turf.
Tolle's outing started with a 421-foot leadoff home run on just the second pitch of his outing. He then retired the next seven batters and kept the Braves off the scoreboard until the bottom of the fifth inning. Two runs were all the Braves' lineup could come up with during Tolle's eight-inning start.
He only allowed four hits and walked one batter. Despite his dominance, Tolle only struck out three. It worked in his favor as he was able to keep his pitch count low.