Payton Tolle records career-high 14 strikeouts as Red Sox extend winning streak

Boston (64-51) extended its winning streak to nine games as Payton Tolle delivered a dominant performance, striking out a career-high 14 batters over six innings without issuing a walk. He allowed one run on two hits on 84 pitches, and the Red Sox held a comfortable lead throughout the game.

Interim manager Chad Tracy chose to remove Tolle after the sixth inning to manage his workload, noting the game was already in hand. > "It doesn’t get much better than that," Tracy said, adding that Tolle was "electric."

Ceddanne Rafaela contributed two hits, two runs and a notable defensive catch, while Jarren Duran and newly acquired catcher Jake Rogers praised Tolle’s performance. > "I love his mentality. He goes up there and throws his stuff over the plate," Rogers said.

Tolle’s strikeout total was the most by a Red Sox pitcher since Chris Sale’s 17 in 2019 and the highest for a pitcher aged 23 or younger since Roger Clemens in 1986. He averaged 97.6 mph on his fastball, the fastest single-start speed of his career.

The Oakland Athletics (45-71) did not reach base until the fifth inning, when Tyler Soderstrom homered, ending Tolle’s bid for a perfect game. Raymond Burgos, called up from Triple-A Worcester, recorded the final three innings for a save in his second major-league appearance.

Boston’s offense was evenly distributed, with six players recording two hits each and four driving in multiple runs. Duran opened the scoring with a two-run home run, his third in five games, and later added a double. Jake Rogers doubled twice, and Masataka Yoshida contributed two runs and two RBIs. The team scored at least 12 runs for the second straight game, a feat not achieved since May 2016.

"It takes a lot of pressure off whenever you score that many runs," Tolle said after the game.