BALTIMORE -- Payton Tolle's push to the finish line of his strong rookie season added more entertainment on Sunday afternoon in the form of an in-game push-up.
In the third inning, while facing Pete Alonso, Tolle fell down at the end of his windup on a 1-2 pitch. While on the ground, he pushed himself right back up like he was in high school gym class.
Meanwhile, from the mound, Tolle shoved against the Orioles, helping the Red Sox complete a four-game sweep of the Orioles with a 3-1 victory at Camden Yards.
The moment of levity with the push-up came just one start after Tolle hugged Seattle’s Dominic Canzone while he was in the middle of tagging him out on the first-base line.
“Yeah, that's the first time and that’ll be the last time,” said Tolle. “That's as many [push-ups] as I’m getting out.”
The Red Sox are used to Tolle’s infectious enthusiasm.
“There’s going to be something every time he pitches,” said interim manager Chad Tracy. “Like we've always said about him, he's having fun out there, and some guys are very intense and locked in when they start. He has to have fun. That's what makes him go. So he's enjoying himself out there.”
There is never a dull moment for the 23-year-old, who spent another day of his season laughing, making demonstrative gestures and, oh yeah, setting opposing hitters down with relative ease.
“I think I'm going to try to show the positive emotion, and just continue to have fun out there,” said Tolle. “I think hopefully it rubs off on everybody else and it loosens the guys up, but that's just kind of the way that I'm going to be at my best.”
Tolle was at his best Sunday.
Over six innings, Tolle (9-6, 3.15 ERA) allowed four hits and a run, walking none and striking out 12 batters. He generated 17 whiffs out of Baltimore’s 54 swings. Perhaps most impressively, 70 of Tolle’s 91 pitches were strikes.
What did Tracy see from Tolle?
“What I usually do. He had plenty of velocity early,” Tracy said. “He carried it late. Used his off-speed stuff effectively. For the most part, he controlled counts. Used his fastball very effectively. Stayed with it until they proved they were going to hit it. He was just really, really good.”
If Tolle’s powerful performance wasn’t enough, closer Aroldis Chapman finished off the Orioles with his 400th career save, making him the ninth pitcher in history to achieve that milestone.
Eli White provided all the offense the Red Sox wound up needing with one swing, when he mashed a three-run homer to left-center in the second. The O’s created that opportunity when shortstop Gunnar Henderson made an error on a Caleb Durbin grounder.
White mauled a 1-0 slider (middle-middle) by O’s starter Kyle Bradish and hit it a Statcast-projected 384 feet.
Acquired at the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline, White started all four games of the sweep in center in place of Ceddanne Rafaela (right quadriceps strain, 10-day injured list) and had important hits in three of the four contests.
“I think I’m getting consistent at-bats, and you can kind of get in the groove a little bit, and so yeah, I feel like I'm in a good spot at the plate,” said White. “I'm just trying to keep it rolling.”
Meanwhile, the Red Sox, who came to Baltimore having lost six of their last eight, are rolling again themselves.
Pitching has been the key, as they allowed a total of one run in the final three games against the Orioles.
“Yeah, that's the whole series,” Tracy said of the pitching. “It was an amazing performance by our entire pitching staff for four days. It was awesome, but Tolle today was fantastic. And then the guys coming out of the 'pen were awesome. Chappy gets the 400th save. Can't say enough about the way we threw the ball this weekend.”
Boston (79-65) heads home for a Monday matinee (1:35 p.m. ET) in secure possession of the second AL WIld Card spot, leading the Guardians by six games.