BOSTON – The possibility of history – as in the first perfect game by a Boston pitcher since Cy Young in 1904 – at least hovered slightly in the Fenway Park air for a while on Friday night.
Payton Tolle, Boston’s standout rookie, retired 16 straight Yankees before Spencer Jones ended his bid for perfection on a single to left with one out in the sixth.
But that was the only blemish as the power lefty had a night to remember, allowing just the one hit and two walks while striking out seven in leading his Red Sox to a 6-1 victory that guaranteed at least a split of the four-game rivalry series.
However, perfection was the last thing on Tolle’s mind when he woke up sick. And that’s what made one of the best performances of his young career so special.
“This morning, and a little bit yesterday, just had like a body ache, fever, head felt fine, not coughing or anything,” said Tolle. “But I laid in bed for a good, long time this morning, and then got here, got some DayQuil in me, and I think that’s why I hit the wall so hard in the seventh, just not sleeping great, and being a lazy bum in bed all day.”
Yes, that seventh inning was the one inning the Yankees threatened, as Tolle issued back-to-back, two-out walks. But as Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s fly ball to deep center landed in Ceddanne Rafaela’s trusty glove, Tolle pumped his fist.
Then he walked off the mound to a roaring ovation from the crowd of 33,353.
“It was really cool,” said Tolle. “I figured it was my last one, too, so I took a moment. It was a slow walk in, just because I want to look up and take it in again. It's a good environment. Friday night against the Yankees is going to be a great environment here, so just take it in, and it was a lot of fun.”
Earlier in the day was anything but fun for Tolle, and that says a lot, because he takes joy in just about everything. However, he wasn’t about to give up his start.
“I was like, I don't feel great, but I'm going to pitch today, and there were a couple of times where I was like, ‘Do I tell anybody, or should I just push through this?’ But we got some booster stuff, got a bunch of vitamins or something, and that helped out, so it was good. It was a grinder [start].”
If only everyone could grind to such stellar results.
“Awesome,” said Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy. “I don't really know much else to say about it other than awesome.”
And for the record, Tolle was well aware of his perfection while it lasted.
“Way too early,” Tolle said. “I might have thought about it in the third inning, and then it's like I was telling the guys on the radio [in the postgame interview], whenever those guys that have thrown no-hitters and perfect games say they didn't think about it until the end of the game, it's like, 'All right dude, you thought about it at least once, and you looked up at the scoreboard at some point.'”
The scoreboard at Fenway showed a Tolle with lesser velocity than normal on Friday. Per Statcast, his four-seamer averaged 94.4 mph, compared to his season average of 96.1.
But unlike the pitcher who was called up in September in the middle of a pennant race last year, this Tolle can mix in secondary offerings when his power pitches aren’t at their optimum rate of effectiveness.
Tolle got whiffs on three of the four swings the Yankees took at his much-improved curveball, and used his sinker (28%) and cutter (23%) more often than he has over the year (23% and 16%).
For Tolle to be pitching with such command less than two years after the Red Sox took him with the 50th overall pick in the 2024 Draft is rather impressive.
“I think he just did a good job of filling up the zone,” Jones said. “It felt like a lot of guys, he was just getting ahead in the count, and then he was able to do what he wanted to do with certain pitches. Credit to him: he was able to execute and get out ahead.”
Fittingly enough, Tolle’s strong rookie season started against the Yankees. On April 23, fresh off a call-up from Triple-A Worcester, the lefty punched out 11 over six innings in which he allowed just three hits and one run. But that was a tough-luck, no-decision in a game the Red Sox lost, 4-2, at Fenway.
There will be many more rivalry games in Tolle’s future. But he hopes the rest of them won’t be fueled by DayQuil.