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    Payton Tolle surrenders one run in Game 1 defeat

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    BOS Starting Pitcher #70
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    Payton Tolle surrendered one run over 4 2/3 innings in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series against the Yankees on Tuesday.

    Tolle didn’t look overmatched in his first career postseason start on the road at Yankee Stadium, but he was ultimately outdueled by his New York counterpart Cam Schlitter, who posted 10 strikeouts over 6 1/3 shutout frames. The 23-year-old southpaw did enough to keep the Red Sox within striking distance in the middle innings as an RBI single from Austin Wells with two outs in the third inning accounted for all of the damage against him. He finished with four strikeouts and only issued one walk. He would get the nod for Game 1 of the AL Division Series if the Red Sox find a way to rally in the best-of-three showdown in New York.
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Eric Samulski and James Schiano break down why Yandy Diaz is a crucial piece to the Tampa Bay Rays' lineup in this World Series and how he is one of the most underrated hitters in the MLB.

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  • BOS Starting Pitcher #70
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    Sonny Gray will start Game 2, with Ranger Suarez potentially lined up for Game 3. It seems that Tracy may be looking to break up his lefties. Tolle is certainly a worthwhile Game 1 starter. He finished the regular season with a 3.03 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 28.4 percent strikeout rate across 148 2/3 innings. He has never made a start in the postseason before, while Gray has previous experience. Gray also posted a 2.72 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 21.8 percent strikeout rate in 169 innings this year. Either way, the Red Sox have a nice duo set up to start the first two games of the series.
  • BOS Manager
    It’s unclear how the Red Sox are going to handle the situation since they’re ostensibly locked into the second Wild Card spot heading into the playoffs next week. Patrick Sandoval was scheduled to start Sunday’s season finale and will presumably get the ball on Saturday instead, weather permitting. Jake Bennett, Payton Tolle and Brayan Bello are also in the mix to pitch as well. It’ll be Matthew Boyd and David Peterson most getting the ball for the Cubs during the twin bill with Justin Steele (elbow) in the mix to return from the injured list this weekend. There are a ton of variables that fantasy managers need to monitor with Boston facing inclement weather from roughly Friday evening through Sunday afternoon.
  • BOS Starting Pitcher #70
    Tolle’s velocity was down by about one mph tonight, but he still did solid work in striking out five and finishing with a 32 percent CSW. He’ll head into the postseason 9-6 with a 3.03 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 148 2/3 innings. It looks like he’ll probably pitch Game 1 against the Yankees next Tuesday.
  • BOS Starting Pitcher #70
    Tolle draws back into Boston’s rotation after having his previous start against the Rays last weekend pushed back for workload and postseason scheduling reasons. The talented 23-year-old former top prospect is unlikely to work too deep into this outing with the Red Sox having already clinched a playoff spot, but he’s still worth rolling with in nearly all fantasy leagues. This will likely be his final regular-season outing before the Red Sox face the Yankees in the playoffs.
  • BOS Starting Pitcher #70
    The Red Sox haven’t hid the strong possibility that Tolle wasn’t going to pitch this weekend, but it’s a tough break for fantasy managers hoping for an outing against the Rays during playoff action. There’s still a chance that Tolle starts Sunday’s series finale, but the Boston hasn’t finalized their pitching plans beyond having Brayan Bello start Saturday’s contest.
  • BOS Starting Pitcher #66
    Bello draws the starting assignment for Saturday’s game against the Rays with Payton Tolle apparently being skipped in the rotation in an effort to manage his workload and set up Boston’s rotation for the postseason. Obviously, Bello has had more success coming out of the bullpen as opposed to being used as a traditional starter. Still, this is a decent spot for fantasy purposes in pitcher-friendly Tropicana Field.
  • BOS Starting Pitcher #70
    Saturday would be Payton Tolle’s turn, following by Patrick Sandoval on Sunday, but it looks like the Red Sox might be tweaking things. Depending on what they do, they could be aiming to move Tolle ahead of Ranger Suarez as a potential Game 2 starter in their likely Wild Card series.
  • BOS Starting Pitcher #70
    Tolle didn’t get the victory, as Erik Miller and Garrett Whitlock combined to give the tying run in the seventh before the Red Sox went back ahead. Tolle, though, was the star today. He fanned four in a row to begin the game, and he went on to limit the Royals to four singles and one walk. His ERA is sitting at 3.02 through 25 starts. He’ll face the Rays next time out.
  • BOS Starting Pitcher #70
    Tolle hardly seems to care that he’s now 40+ innings over his previous high. His velocity was up about one mph from his season averages today, and he reached double figures in strikeouts for the third time this year. He was actually hit really hard when the Orioles made contact against him; all but one of the nine balls in play he gave up was hard hit and the overall average was 100.3 mph. Still, it resulted in only four hits allowed. Tolle is 9-6 with a 3.15 ERA. He’d have a Rookie of the Year case most seasons, but he’s still behind at least Kevin McGonigle and Parker Messick in the AL this year. He’ll likely face the Royals next weekend.
  • BOS Starting Pitcher #70
    After entering the fifth with a 3-2 lead, Tolle loaded the bases with no outs on a HBP, a walk and a bunt single versus the bottom-third of the lineup. Randy Arozarena then drilled a game-tying single. At that point, Tolle stepped it up, throwing several of his hardest pitches of the game to strike out two and get Cal Raleigh to fly out on a game-high 98.4-mph fastball to end the threat. Afterwards, Tolle clearly should have been told, “great job, hit the showers, kid.” But the Red Sox brought him back out to give up one more run. The one fastball he threw in the sixth checked in at 95.5 mph. It’s the first time in seven starts that Tolle has allowed more than three runs. He remained 8-6 with a 3.23 ERA. He’ll likely face the Orioles on Sunday.

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    The Phillies are hiring Peter Fatse as their hitting coach, sources told The Athletic.

    Fatse worked from the Red Sox from 2019 until this April, when he was part of the purge that also resulted in Alex Cora’s removal. He had since served as a hitting consultant with the Rays. He’ll be replacing Kevin Long in Philadelphia.
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    The Brewers are using the same lineup as Games 1 and 2, with Christian Yelich batting third, in Monday’s World Series Game 3 against the Rays.

    Nothing the Brewers are doing needs fixing at the moment. The lineup: LF Jackson Chourio, 1B Jake Bauers, DH Yelich, C William Contreras, 2B Brice Turang, CF Garrett Mitchell, SS Cooper Pratt, RF Sal Frelick and 3B David Hamilton.
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    The Rays are sitting Jonathan Aranda against Brewers left-hander Robert Gasser in Monday’s Game 3.

    Aranda has been a platoon player in the past, but not so much recently. He had started all of the Rays’ previous postseason games, and he’s hit .310/.383/.405 in 48 plate appearances. Ryan Vilade is playing first base in his place tonight, and Nick Fortes is catching over Liam Hicks. The lineup: DH Yandy Díaz, 1B Vilade, LF Chandler Simpson, 3B Junior Caminero, 2B Ben Williamson, CF Jonny DeLuca, RF Victor Mesa Jr., C Fortes and SS Taylor Walls.
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    Max Muncy underwent left knee surgery on Monday.

    Muncy was placed on the injured list on September 22nd with left knee chondromalacia, which is a cartilage issue under his kneecap. We don’t know exactly what type of surgery he had or what the specific timeline will be, but it’s been reported that “he’ll begin rehab immediately and is expected to be ready for 2027 Spring Training.”
  • HOU Left Fielder #10
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    Joey Loperfido had arthroscopic surgery on his right hip.

    The Astros said that the surgery was to “address a labral injury and hip impingement that were identified shortly after the season ended.” Loperfido is not expected to miss time during the regular season, but he will be behind in spring training, which could make it hard for him to make the MLB roster out of camp.
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    Royals released C Jorge Alfaro.

    Alfaro signed a minor league deal with the Royals in December and hit .223/.287/.468 with 15 home runs in 62 games between Double-A and Triple-A. He also struck out over 41 percent of the time. He will likely get an MLB spring training invite somewhere.
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    Francisco Lindor was awarded the 2026 Roberto Clemente Award.

    The Roberto Clemente Award, which began in 1971, “is the annual recognition of a Major League player who best represents the game of Baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy, and positive contributions, both on and off the field.” Every team nominates one player for the award, and a panel of former players, journalists, and executives decides on the winner. Lindor was chosen, in part, due to his support for his native Puerto Rico following Hurricanes Maria and Fiona, an annual back-to-school initiative he runs in Queens, support for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, and the Lindor Leaders Program, which, in partnership with New Balance, is a “year-long leadership development initiative for students in Bayside High School’s Sports Medicine Program that focuses on mental health, communication, teamwork, and leadership.”
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    Rocco Baldelli has withdrawn from the Mariners’ managerial search, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports.

    Baldelli cited family considerations in making the decision. The former Twins manager is currently serving as a special assistant in the Dodgers front office.
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    Free agent Michael Kelly is drawing interest from Japanese teams, says MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.

    When he wasn’t serving a 162-game suspension for betting on baseball, Kelly was effective for the A’s in 2024 and ’25, amassing a 2.92 ERA in 70 innings between the two seasons. His 2026 was a total bust, though, and he sat out the second half after being released by the A’s. He’ll almost certainly have to take a minor league deal if he remains in the U.S.
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    The Astros are hiring Conner Watson as their director of hitting, The Athletic’s Chandler Rome reports.

    Not having a GM or a manager isn’t keeping the Astros from adding to their staff. Watson has been an assistant hitting director for the Guardians the last two years.