Tolle struggles to miss bats in loss

One of the two hits was a solo homer by Tyler Soderstrom that just skirted over the short right-center fence at Fenway, and that accounted for all the damage done tonight. Tolle’s stuff ticked up a notch or two today, as he touched 99.5 mph and averaged 97.6 on his four-seamer. He achieved whiffs on a stunning 24-of-49 swings by the Athletics. He’ll look to keep it rolling against the Blue Jays in what is currently slated to be a matchup with All-Star Game starter Dylan Cease.

Tolle gave up nine hits and 11 hard-hit balls, but he never did break before departing with the game tied at two. The Red Sox prevailed in the end, winning their fifth straight game that Tolle has started. They had been 4-9 through his first 13 starts. Tolle will take a 3.30 ERA into a home start against the A’s next weekend.

Tolle gave up homers to Tyler Soderstrom and Jonah Heim, but thanks to Ceddanne Rafaela’s slam in the sixth, he won for the sixth time this season to even up his record. He has a 3.32 ERA and a 103/27 K/BB through 95 innings. He’s looking at a showdown with the Dodgers next time out on Saturday.

Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy confirmed that Suarez is finally ready to take the ball after his return from the injured list was delayed by an illness earlier this week. The 30-year-old All-Star southpaw will return to a red-hot Boston squad after missing exactly three weeks with a groin strain. He got off to a bit of a slow start in his Red Sox debut, but finished the first half with a sparkling 3.15 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 97/26 K/BB ratio across 91 1/3 innings. It’ll be rookie Peyton Tolle drawing the starting assignment for Monday’s series opener against the Athletics out in West Sacramento.

Tolle didn’t have luck on his side tonight; he gave up eight hits but just five hard-hit balls and only one ball with an xBA over .500. It’s just the third time this year that he’s allowed more than three runs. He wasn’t involved in the decision, so he stays 5-6 with a 3.31 ERA. He’ll face the Blue Jays on Sunday.

After calling up Brayan Bello, the Red Sox hinted before the game that this could be a short start for Tolle and that obviously turned out to be the case, even though Tolle was plenty effective with his 66 pitches. Tolle finishes off the first half with a 3.11 ERA and an 87/25 K/BB in 84 innings. Throw in his three Triple-A starts and he’s at 99 innings for the season. He finished at 108 last year in his first season as a pro, so there might be more managing of his workload going forward.

Both hits were singles from Sam Antonacci. Tolle was fortunate, though, that this one wasn’t in Fenway or Junior Perez’s 322-foot fly down the left field line would have snuck in for a homer past the Pesky Pole. It’s Tolle’s third scoreless start of the year, and it follows his worst showing, as he gave up six runs in three innings versus the Nationals last Wednesday. He’s 5-6 with a 3.14 ERA ahead of his final start of the first half versus the Mets.

The lefty struck out five. It was the shortest start of the year for Tolle, whose fastball was clocked as low as 92 mph before he departed. Washington had a clear plan as they repeatedly attacked his heater while Tolle didn’t mix in his secondaries. Wednesday also marked his first time allowing more than two free passes since April 28. It was a nightmare outing against one of the top offenses in baseball. He’ll look to get back on track next time out against the White Sox.

What a start. Tolle retired the first 16 batters he faced in order and there was that little twinge in the back of your neck that this could’ve been a really special outing. Then, a Spencer Jones flare turned into a single and this just wound up as a run-of-the-mill gem. Oftentimes leaning on his fantastic four-seamer, Tolle let that pitch take a back seat here as he featured his cutter more than usual. He also pulled out his curveball sparingly, but it forced some ugly swings when he spotted it. Aggression, precision, bravado, he had it all going in this start. Through 71 1/3 innings this season, he has 69 strikeouts, 20 walks, and a 2.78 ERA. Next up, he’s scheduled to face the Nationals at home.

Tolle struck out six and walked two on the day, but two of his four hits allowed were solo home runs. The left-hander threw 69 percent of his pitches for strikes while posting an 11 percent swinging strike rate and 29 percent CSW. His typically dominant four-seamer had just a nine percent swinging strike rate against right-handed hitters on the day, but his secondary pitches were solid enough to keep this game from getting away from him. That makes this a modestly confidence-inducing start heading into a good matchup against a banged-up Mariners offense in Seattle on Sunday.