Overview
- On Friday night the rookie left‑hander Payton Tolle struck out a career‑high 14 batters over six innings, allowing two hits, no walks and carrying a perfect game through four innings.
- Tolle topped out near 99.5 mph and generated double‑digit high‑velocity pitches, striking out the side in three different innings while needing just 84 pitches.
- The Red Sox backed him with a 13‑1 offensive rout that included Wilyer Abreu driving in three runs and Jarren Duran hitting a two‑run homer to spark a five‑run second inning.
- The victory extended Boston’s winning streak to nine games and marked the club’s 27th win in 30, a stretch that is one of the rarest since 1920 and the only such run to start while the team was under .500.
- The start followed a 13‑inning win that had taxed the bullpen the night before, and Tolle’s length and dominance gave the staff a reset while drawing comparisons to past Red Sox strikeout nights by Chris Sale and Roger Clemens.