When the Boston Red Sox take the field at Rogers Centre on Thursday afternoon, they will do so looking to avoid being swept. After not dropping a series since late June and early July, they have now dropped two straight.
After losing two out of three last weekend at home to the Athletics, Boston has dropped the first three games against the Toronto Blue Jays. Interim manager Chad Tracy will hand the ball to young left-hander Payton Tolle to snap a five-game losing streak.
Before his start against Max Scherzer, Tolle spoke about what it’s going to be like going up against the veteran right-hander.
Boston Red Sox Pitcher Payton Tolle Excited for Matchup Against Max Scherzer
Tolle has been a huge addition for the Red Sox this season. Going up against Scherzer pits Tolle against someone he looked up to as he was growing up and watching baseball.
“I was actually thinking about it today: Should I send a ball over to get signed?” said Tolle, per Tim Healy of the Boston Globe. “But it’s a cool one for me. He’s a guy that, growing up, during high school and stuff, watching him, the competitive bulldog — that’s kind of the guy that pitchers look at. So it’s a cool thing that I’m excited about. I got to shake his hand earlier this year.”
Scherzer was one of the top pitchers in his prime, but that was long before the 2026 season. He is just 1-4 in nine starts with a 7.25 ERA over just 36 innings. He has allowed 29 earned runs, which is something Boston can look to exploit early in the game.
As for Tolle, he has been big for the Red Sox in 2026. He’s 7-6 in 19 starts with a 3.20 ERA in 107 innings with 124 strikeouts to just 29 walks. The 23-year-old is 2-0 in August and has allowed just three earned runs in 12 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Athletics.
Payton Tolle Looking To Stop Red Sox Losing Streak
After Wednesday night’s 6-4 loss, it was the fifth straight loss. Amazingly, given the struggles they’ve had this season, the only other five-game losing streak was from March 28-April 1. That was when Alex Cora was the manager.
After winning 15 straight games and roaring through July and the first week of August, Boston is in uncharted waters. During their losing streak, they have failed to come up with clutch hits while making some mistakes on defense. All things they didn’t do the previous six weeks. Now they are looking to avoid being swept by the all-of-a-sudden surging Blue Jays.
“We’re pretty battle-tested at this point,” Tracy said, per Healy. “You’re probably going to go through a rough patch. We’re going through it now. We got to fight our way out of it.”
After Thursday’s game, Boston heads to Pittsburgh for three games with the struggling Pirates. Boston is sitting in the second American League wild-card spot, 4.5 games clear of the Texas Rangers. If there was a time that Tolle would step up and be a stopper, it’ll be against one of his childhood idols.
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