The regular season has come to an end for Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Payton Tolle. He made his final scheduled start on Tuesday night, throwing 5.2 innings and giving up 2 earned runs in a no decision against the Cleveland Guardians.
There was some reason for concern in the start, though. Tolle’s velocity was down. In the first inning, he was hitting around 97 mph on the radar gun. By the second, he was around 94 mph.
There were a couple of reasons being suggested, neither of which would be good. He could be dealing with the cold, which going into October isn’t what you want to hear. Or, he could have a mechanical issue, which leads to more questions for the young Red Sox pitcher. For his part, Tolle would blame his mechanics.
“I think there was a little bit of just trying to find my legs for a second,” Tolle said. “I think I got very nitpicky. I got trying to be too fine. It’s like, I don’t — you’re going to see the velo dip whenever I’m being too fine. That’s kind of what happened there, especially with those walks. Just trying too hard on some pitches.”
This comes at a time when Red Sox reliever Erik Miller is battling mechanical issues. Those are issues that have led to concerns about what he can be in the postseason. At the very least, Tolle seemed to figure it out midgame.
“So, it is what it is,” Tolle said. “But I think later I got back to just trying to fly through zone and let it be what it be.”
Boston Red Sox Fans Embraced Payton Tolle in 2026
Boston Red Sox fans got their first taste of Payton Tolle in 2025, but he was still a rookie who started 2026 in the minors. It wouldn’t be until injuries hit the rotation that Tolle made it back to the MLB team, which is a tough spot to be in for anyone. Still, he and the fanbase have seemed to embrace each other.
So, it was no surprise that the Fenway Faithful walked him off the mound on Tuesday with a standing ovation. Unless the Red Sox can win a playoff round, that was his final home game of the season.
Tolle wrapped up the regular season with a 3.03 ERA in 26 games and 148.2 innings. He also had a 1.096 WHIP and 10.4 strikeouts per nine. More importantly, he proved he has secondary pitches beyond his fastball, which is still his bread and butter.
Along the way, Red Sox fans embraced Tolle for how he plays the game. He’s both fiery and passionate, but he doesn’t take himself overly seriously. That has seen him hug runners to tag them out, do push-ups after slipping, and smile before throwing an immaculate inning.
The Red Sox Need Tolle for the Postseason
There is no doubt that the Red Sox are going to need Payton Tolle at his best for the postseason. The question is whether or not he’s getting the ball in Game 1. For his part, manager Chad Tracy didn’t want to give anything away just yet.
“TBD,” Tracy said on when Tolle will pitch next. “But good try, though.”
Tolle only got to pitch 0.1 innings last postseason. The Red Sox need more this year from him, and he’s excited for the opportunity.
“I’m excited… I’ll keep going back to how far we’ve come. Go back to June, and what we were thinking sitting in this same room in June. I’m just really proud of this group; this is incredible. I’ve had so much fun— obviously,” Tolle said.
Red Sox SP Payton Tolle Shares Mechanics Concern in Final Regular Season Start