Payton Tolle fans seven prior to exit in fourth

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 two and walked two while throwing 67 percent of his pitches for strikes. He had good command of his fastballs on the day, but he struggled to get into two-strike counts, with just five total whiffs and a six percent swinging strike rate on the day. He couldn’t really command his sinker to lefties, which made it harder for him to get chases with his four-seamer, and while his four-seamer did miss some bats against righties, it was his only pitch that really did so. The rookie will look to continue to iron out the kinks in a tough start against the Yankees next week.

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.

Tolle clearly didn’t have his best stuff in this one, but still managed to grind out six frames anyway, needing 94 pitches (71 strikes) in the process. All of the damage came against him in the fourth inning when Cedric Mullins, Ben Williamson and Nick Fortes delivered run-scoring hits. He finished with three strikeouts and only issued one walk. The 23-year-old top prospect has been excellent overall this season, delivering a strong 2.70 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 54/14 K/BB ratio across 53 1/3 innings over nine starts. He’ll square off against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park his next time out on Tuesday.

Tolle allowed seven hits and two walks in the outing but most importantly kept Baltimore off the scoreboard. He threw a career-high 99 pitches, lowering his ERA to 2.28 for the season. The rookie southpaw continues to impress with a fastball-heavy approach, including his new sinker. He next lines up for a road matchup in Tampa Bay.

The 23-year-old hurler scattered five hits on the night while issuing a pair of free passes. All of the damage done against him came in the fourth inning on a pair of RBI singles by Jorge Mateo and Dominic Smith. He piled up 18 swings and misses on 94 offerings on the night — 11 of those on his fastball — while registering a CSW of 24 percent. He’ll attempt to get back in the win column as he carries a brilliant 2.61 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and a 46/11 K/BB ratio (41 1/3 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Orioles.

After retiring all three batters he faced in the first inning, Tolle allowed five-straight batters to reach base to start the second inning, with Ryan Kriedler and Luke Keaschall driving in runs to cut the Red Sox’s lead to 4-2. After striking out Alex Jackson, Tolle would allow an RBI single to Byron Buxton to give the Twins their third and final run of the frame. Despite the rough start, Tolle would settle in to pitch five straight scoreless innings before being pulled to start the seventh. Tolle’s nine strikeouts are good for his second-highest total in any game this season, and he has now allowed three earned runs or fewer in every outing. His next start is scheduled for Thursday at home against the Braves.

Tolle needed just 85 pitches to get 24 outs tonight, finishing with four hits allowed, one walk and three strikeouts. He gave up a 421-foot homer to Drake Baldwin and had two flyouts that projected as homers in 15 and five ballparks, according to Statcast. Still, it was a pretty impressive showing, especially because he averaged the same 96.5 mph with his fastball in the eighth that he did in the first. Tolle is 2-2 with a 2.05 ERA through five turns, and he’ll be a worthy mixed-league play next week against the Twins.