BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox left-hander Payton Tolle gave his head a shake and let out a big breath, as if to make sure it was all real.
“Chills. A lot of chills,” he said after taking a one-hit shutout into the sixth inning in his major league debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night. “It was incredible. I came off the mound after the first and I couldn’t feel my feet.
“It was just the greatest experience of my life. It was the greatest atmosphere. I was just proud of it. I’ll look back on this day for a long time. Just think about this moment.”
Less than five months removed from his professional debut — with the Greenville Drive of the Single-A South Atlantic League — Tolle took the mound at sold-out Fenway Park against NL Cy Young Award favorite Paul Skenes.
Tolle struck out eight and was lifted to a standing ovation after allowing back-to-back singles with one out in the sixth; reliever Greg Weissert allowed those baserunners to score, and one more of his own. The Pirates won 4-2, dropping the Red Sox behind the rival New York Yankees and into third place in the AL East, but that didn’t seem to matter.
“It was a great night for us,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “It stunk that we didn’t win. But that was a step forward for the organization.”
Called up earlier in the day when World Series clincher Walker Buehler was released, Tolle struck out a pair in the first and then pitched out of a jam in the second — fanning two more — after putting runners on second and third with nobody out.
He allowed just one hit through five but gave up back-to-back singles in the sixth and Cora came out to get him. The infielders gathered on the mound, slapping him on the shoulder and chest.
“He came out and I turned to all the guys in the infield and said, ‘I think you guys are really, really cool,’” Tolle said.
He shook hands with Cora and walked back to the dugout for more congratulations, looking to the sky as he crossed the first-base line with the crowd — and his new teammates applauding.
“I was fighting back tears. I’m not going to lie,” Tolle said. “It was pretty special.”
Tommy Pham and Andrew McCutchen hit back-to-back doubles off Weissert to give the Pirates a 3-2 lead and deprive Tolle of his first major league win. Skenes got the victory, lowering his major league-leading ERA to 2.05.
“That’s the dream of the job,” Tolle said. “Being able to have that Friday night in Boston against another really good pitcher. You kind of feel like you get battle tested quick. You know they get you get that fire, that hype of the game.
“To be able to share the rubber with somebody like that — it’s going to continue to happen,” Tolle said. “Just super proud of it.”
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