When Payton Tolle walked off the mound on July 1 at Fenway Park after just three innings of work, he was pulled from the game. Boston Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy made the right decision on a hot Boston afternoon.
His left-hander had allowed six runs on seven hits in what was a 10-2 loss to the Washington Nationals on 76 pitches. After that game, Boston hit the road for a nine-game road trip heading into the All-Star break. On Sunday, they finished the road trip perfectly at 9-0 with a 3-2 10-inning win over the New York Mets.
Tolle got the start in the final game before the break, and he didn’t last as long as he thought he might. In fact, he lasted just a little bit longer than he did against the Nationals with a much better pitching line.
Boston Red Sox Pitcher Payton Tolle Speaks on Getting Pulled Early Against the New York Mets
Tolle was rolling against the Mets. He gave up just three hits, one run and struck out seven over 3.2 innings. However, Tracy removed him from the game with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, in favor of Brayan Bello. Tolle threw just 66 pitches before getting the early hook. What did he think about it?
“Those are decisions for people a lot smarter than me, but I’m going to go out there every time and want to compete and go as long as I can,” said Tolle, per Ian Browne of MLB.com. “But I get it, I understand it, so I was joking with (pitching coach Andrew Bailey), I was like, ‘I’m going to come yell at you later.’ But I get it. That’s where we’re at right now.”
Bello, who was called up from Triple-A Worcester before the game, went 4.1 innings, allowing just two hits and one run with five strikeouts. Aroldis Chapman earned the win after a scoreless bottom of the ninth inning after his teammates tied the game with two runs in the top half. Garrett Whitlock picked up the save to close out the break.
In hindsight, this was a move where Tracy was playing with house money. With the All-Star break here, getting him off the mound and giving him a longer break made sense. Tolle may not have agreed with the decision, but like everything lately for the Red Sox, the move worked out.
Boston Red Sox Winning Streak Headlined By Pitching
When the Red Sox began the trip in Southern California against the Los Angeles Angels, who had them winning all seven games? Tracy would have been happy to win each series. They did more than that.
“It’s impressive,” said Tracy, per Browne. “I think when you leave on the plane to start the road trip, the mindset’s like, ‘Let’s try to go win three series and at least put ourselves within a couple of games or a few games (in the Wild Card standings) if we can. That’s the mindset, and we won all nine. So I’m so proud of them.”
Is the break coming at a bad time for the Red Sox? Maybe. However, it made sense to have Tolle on a pitch count. He is turning into one of Tracy’s top arms. If they are going to make a second-half run, he will be a big part of it. Questions surround Connelly Early and Garrett Crochet about when they’ll return. That’s what makes Tolle a big piece of the puzzle post-All-Star break.
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