Payton Tolle keeps making the Red Sox look like a team with real momentum, and Tuesday gave him another loud endorsement.
Boston opened its three-game set against the Chicago White Sox with Tolle on the mound, and the young left-hander delivered exactly the kind of outing the Red Sox have been chasing through this recent surge. After his roughest start of the season on July 1, when he gave up six runs in three innings, Tolle bounced back with six shutout innings, allowed only two hits and struck out six.
He was sharp from the outset, and the White Sox never really got comfortable. Tolle’s work in the sixth inning was part of the package too, with his two strikeouts there drawing attention as Boston kept rolling.
That performance also drew a major compliment from Willson Contreras.
"Tolle has big talent. He's a future ace, for sure,” Contreras said, as transcribed by MLB.com's Ian Browne.
“That's what I see for him. What I like the most is how he controls himself on the mound and controls his pace.
For me, the sky's the limit with that guy.”
That’s a strong statement coming from a veteran who has seen plenty of high-end arms over the years. Contreras was an All-Star catcher before moving to first base, and his career has included time with Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks, John Lackey, Adam Wainwright, Yu Darvish, and Sonny Gray. If he’s calling Tolle a future ace, that carries weight.
Tolle’s outing also put him in a small slice of team history. According to former Red Sox director of Baseball communications and media relations JP Long, he became the first Red Sox pitcher since Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley in 1978 to record at least four starts of 6.0 or more innings with zero earned runs in a single season before turning 24.
"Payton Tolle is the first Red Sox pitcher since Dennis Eckersley (1978) to make at least 4 starts of 6.0+ innings and 0 ER in a single season prior to turning 24," Long wrote. "He is MLB’s only pitcher under 24 to make at least 4 such starts this season."
It’s a notable development for a Red Sox team that has changed its season in a hurry. After losing two of three to the Colorado Rockies and falling 14 games under .500, Boston answered by sweeping the New York Yankees and has kept climbing. The Red Sox have won nine of their last 11 games, including four straight, and are back in the American League Wild Card picture.
Pitching has been the biggest reason, even with injuries stacking up, but the support has come from all over the roster. On Tuesday, though, Tolle was the story.
He didn’t just steady the rotation. He gave Boston another sign that the turnaround might have some staying power.
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