The last Fenway Friday of August will be headlined by a thrilling pitching matchup between Red Sox top pitching prospect Payton Tolle, in his major league debut, and Pittsburgh Pirates star Paul Skenes.
The Red Sox drafted Tolle in the second round of the ’24 draft, but he did not make his professional debut until April 8 of this year. After 11 games in High-A Greenville, the lefty was promoted to Double-A Portland on June 28, Triple-A Worcester on Aug. 10, and now, after just three starts for the WooSox, will take the mound at Fenway.
At 22 years and 301 days old, Tolle will be the 35th starting pitcher in franchise history to debut at his age or younger, and the first since Eduardo Rodriguez on May 28, 2015. Other notable names on the list include Jon Lester, Roger Clemens, Babe Ruth and Smoky Joe Wood.
The Pirates drafted Skenes only one year before Tolle, and called him up in May ’24. Already he’s a two-time All-Star and the reigning NL Rookie of the Year.
Red Sox lineup
Anthony RF
Bregman 3B
Duran LF
Story SS
Yoshida DH
Gonzalez 1B
Sogard 2B
Rafaela CF
Wong C
Tolle P
Pirates lineup
Check back later
Probable pitchers
LHP Payton Tolle vs. RHP Paul Skenes
How to watch Pirates vs. Red Sox
How to watch Pirates vs. Red Sox
When: 7:10 p.m. ET, Fenway Park
Watch: Red Sox – NESN; Pirates – SportsNet-PIT; National – MLBN (out-of-market only)
Listen: Red Sox – WEEI 93.7, WCCM 1490 AM (SP), WESX 1230 AM (SP); Pirates – KDKA-FM 93.7
