Boston Red Sox rookie left-hander Payton Tolle delivered a dominant performance despite feeling severely ill, throwing seven scoreless innings in a 6-1 victory over the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on Friday.
The 23-year-old retired the first 16 batters he faced, allowing just one hit while striking out seven and walking two.
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“I laid in bed for a long time this morning,” Tolle said. He took over-the-counter medication and used DayQuil to manage symptoms before the game.
Tolle admitted he considered not telling the coaching staff about his condition. “There were a couple times where I was like, ‘Do I tell anybody?
Should I just push through this?’”
His average fastball velocity dropped to 94.4 mph from his usual 96.1 mph, forcing him to rely on location and secondary pitches.
“I’m definitely trying to get to spots better because you can’t just blow guys away,” he explained.
Despite the challenges, Tolle maintained focus inning by inning. “I really took the best one-inning-at-a-time approach that I’ve had all year,” he said.
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He received a standing ovation from the home crowd when he exited after the seventh inning. “It was really cool,” Tolle said.
“Friday night against the Yankees is going to be a great environment here.”
Interim manager Chad Tracy praised Tolle’s performance. “He was awesome.
Pounded the strike zone, was ahead in the count all night, struck out seven. Had his secondaries working,” Tracy said.
Tracy noted that Tolle conserved energy by staying focused on the mound. “All business because he was very focused on making sure he got through it,” he added.
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The Yankees will look to rebound in the third game of the series on Saturday, with Gerrit Cole scheduled to start against Boston lefty Jake Bennett.
