Red Sox’ Roman Anthony launches statement homer off Paul Skenes as Payton Tolle dazzles in debut despite loss to Pirates

Under the bright lights of Fenway Park, the moment finally arrived, and left-hander Payton Tolle stepped onto a Major League mound for the first time.

If Tolle was nervous, he hid his feelings behind a calm stare, as the crowd buzzed with electricity to watch the southpaw, who skyrocketed through the Red Sox system, make his debut. The 6-foot-6 left-hander, known for his bulldog mentality and devastating fastball, didn’t just toe the rubber on Friday night—he took command of it. He fired a first pitch 96.9 mph four-seam fastball right down the heart of the plate before making quick work of Pirates leadoff man Jared Triolo, striking him out with a 98.3 mph four-seam fastball.

“The roar after the third out was, I wish everybody could experience that, the rush that I got from it,” Tolle said.

“(He was) electric,” Alex Cora said. “He competes; that’s the first thing. He enjoys the game and on the mound, that was impressive. The command was good, and he did an outstanding job for us.”

Tolle made it very clear he wasn’t here to just make his Major League debut; he came to make a statement. In over 5 1/3 innings of work, Tolle allowed three hits and two earned runs, struck out eight, and walked two — a gritty, gutsy performance that kept the Pirates honest and off-balance and gave the Sox a fighting chance, but ultimately the bullpen imploded in a 4-2 loss to Pittsburgh.

“His stuff plays, and we’re trying to win as many games as possible, so he’s part of this,” Cora said. “I’m just happy that he’s here.”

The loss snapped Boston’s four-game winning streak, but Tolle offered promise in his impressive debut.

“My goodness. Chills. A lot of chills. I tried to get out there a little early to take it in and everything I could, but it was incredible,” Tolle said of his debut. “I came off the mound after the first, and I couldn’t feel my feet. It was the greatest experience of my life and the greatest atmosphere in baseball. I’m proud of it, and I’ll look back on this day for a long time, thinking about this moment.”

For a pitcher that was fresh out of the minors, with little pro ball experience under his belt, it just wasn’t a solid debut; it validated the Red Sox’ front office in their decision to promote the 22-year-old in the middle of a playoff run.

Tolle tossed five shutout innings to open the game, highlighting why he was considered one of the Red Sox’ top pitching prospects. He struck out two batters in his first inning of work. In the second inning, he encountered some adversity, walking Tommy Pham and then giving up a ground rule double to Andrew McCutchen to give the Pirates two runners on with nobody out. The rookie didn’t unravel; he responded with two more punch-outs and a fly-out to escape the inning.

He retired the first 13 of 14 batters he faced to start the game.

Unfortunately, the debut was spoiled after the Pirates rallied in the sixth inning. With one out, Tolle allowed back-to-back singles to Nick Gonzalez and Bryan Reynolds to give Pittsburgh two base runners. Cora walked to the mound and retrieved the ball from the rookie, who received a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 36,344 at Fenway Park.

The excitement was quickly erased when Pham smoked a two-run double off reliever Greg Weissert, crushing the ball over the head of center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela. The next batter, McCutchen, smoked a double into left-center field, and the Pirates quickly tied the game 2-2.

It took just four pitches from Weissert to erase a marvelous pitching debut from Tolle. The first two runs were charged to Tolle, who threw 84 pitches in total, 53 for strikes, also drew 14 whiffs, and became the first Red Sox hurler to strike out eight or more in his MLB debut since Daisuke Matsuzaka, when he recorded 10 strikeouts on April 5, 2007.

Overall, the Sox’ bullpen was a massive letdown, particularly with Weissert and Jordan Hicks, whose ERA has risen to a staggering 6.41 since Boston acquired him in the Rafael Devers blockbuster swap. Justin Slaten pitched for the first time since coming off the injured list, allowing two hits and one walk in an inning of work.

When the bullpen door swings open and Hicks takes the mound, the hard-throwing righty continues to throw batting practice, failing to fool opposing hitters in any situation he's given. He should be considered a serious DFA candidate if he continues to pitch poorly in lower-leverage situations.

Tolle making his debut wasn’t the only story of the night. Pirates ace Paul Skenes also made his debut at Fenway Park, delivering as expected. The Sox’ offense managed to make the National League Cy Young Award favorite work throughout his start. In the fourth inning, the Sox broke through after Masataka Yoshida walked and Romy Gonzalez singled to put two men on with one out.

Rafaela plated the first run after a swinging bunt went by Skenes, and shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa should have just eaten the ball but instead came up firing and threw the ball away, and one run scored, giving Boston a 1-0 lead.

In the fifth inning, rookie phenom Roman Anthony ignited the crowd with a solo shot off Skenes, extending the Sox's lead to 2-0. It was Anthony’s eighth homer of the season and sixth in the past three weeks.

In six innings, Skenes allowed two runs (one earned) on seven hits, which was tied for the most he’s ever allowed in a start in his big league career. He walked two while striking out six, and he lowered his ERA to 2.05 for the year and 2.01 for his young and impressive career.

On this night, Boston may not have won the game, but Tolle’s debut highlighted how far the Red Sox organization has come from a pitching development perspective.

“I think we brought up Payton with the expectation that he's going to be able to contribute down the stretch for us, and exactly what that looks like is to be determined,” Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said before the game. “But I think over the last four or five months, he's really impressed at every level. He’s made significant strides in terms of his development, and we have every reason to believe that he can be a very good Major League starting pitcher.”

The Red Sox will look to get back on track on Saturday afternoon when Dustin May (7-10, 4.79) takes the ball and will oppose Pirates right-hander Johan Oviedo (1-0, 3.60). The first pitch for the middle game of the series will be at 4:10 p.m.