Tolle K's 7, but Red Sox's home woes continue after bullpen struggles

BOSTON -- Amped up to face one of his heroes in Chris Sale, Red Sox rookie lefty Payton Tolle came out firing with a heat-heavy attack, but couldn’t quite sustain it.

However, the enticing matchup between the phenom and the legend essentially wound up as a draw.

The Red Sox (23-32) wish they could say the same for a 1-5 homestand, capped by Thursday’s 10-2 loss to the Braves at Fenway Park.

Boston’s middle-relief crew had a big letdown following Tolle’s departure, as Ronald Acuña Jr. struck for a game-breaking grand slam against Greg Weissert in the sixth to turn what had been a close game throughout into a 7-2 lead for the Braves.

For Weissert, it was the continuation of his issues with holding inherited runners. He’s now allowed 12 of 21 of them to score.

Perhaps just as annoying to Weissert as the moonshot grand slam was going 0-2 to pinch-hitter Mike Yastrzemski, the first batter he faced, and then walking him to force in the run and set a full table for Acuña.

“Yeah, it's extremely frustrating,” Weissert said. “You got them on the ropes and just can't finish the at-bat. And you know, it goes how it goes.”

There was a buzz entering the game, and how could there not be with how well Tolle has pitched this year, along with how dominant Sale (a former World Series-winning Red Sox ace) has been for much of his career?

In fact, the two pitchers had a little meet-and-greet on the field during Wednesday’s batting practice.

"I told him I like watching him pitch,” said Sale. “He pitches with an intensity. He's got really good stuff, He's gonna be good for a long time."

For Tolle, considering the source of those words, it was the ultimate compliment.

“Sale’s a guy that I've watched for a long time,” said Tolle. “A guy that I really like to watch, and I've heard really amazing things, up and down through this org about him, just the man that he is. Good pitcher, but he's just a good guy, so I tried not to get caught up in that. I had a job to do today.”

Over 4 2/3 innings, Tolle gave up five hits and two runs while walking two and striking out seven. Sale, meanwhile, got through five innings while giving up six hits and two runs to go with three walks and eight strikeouts. Even the pitch counts were nearly identical, as Tolle threw 94 pitches (64 for strikes) and Sale unleashed 96 offerings (61 strikes).

Tolle was upset with himself for not being more economical, which led to the Sox going to the bullpen earlier than planned. He also tugged at his pant legs in frustration when he saw interim manager Chad Tracy coming to get him after he struck out Matt Olson in the fifth.

“If I'm not competing, I'm not playing anymore,” Tolle said. “I want to [stay] in the game every time. I just told [Tracy], ‘Sorry, I didn't want to ruffle any feathers or anything, but I don’t want to come out, I want to pitch, I want to compete.’”

And it’s that feistiness and intensity from Tolle that Sale can certainly relate to.

“He's definitely got an intensity to him. I don't think I could throw that many fastballs in a game and get through it the way he does,” Sale said. “That was impressive.”

Give credit to both offenses for making the opposing starter work.

But after the starters departed, it was no contest, and yet another frustrating day of baseball at Fenway left the Sox at an MLB-worst 9-19 in their home park, on a day the boo birds came out more than once.

“Obviously you never want to lose,” said third baseman Caleb Durbin, who had two hits, including an RBI double. “I think there was a lot of good in this homestand, but obviously at the end of the day, it's wins and losses. That's what matters.”

While Wednesday’s 8-0 win over the Braves provided a glimmer of hope that Tracy’s squad could reverse its season-long Fenway woes, the momentum was lost a day later. With a chance to win the rubber match, the Sox instead fell to 1-7-1 in home series this year.

The Sox now head on the road for just one series, in Cleveland, and they’ll be back at Fenway on Tuesday against the Orioles to take yet another attempt at giving the home crowd more to cheer about.