The Red Sox came from behind to defeat the Minnesota Twins 7-2 in their first Grapefruit League game of 2026 on Saturday at Lee Health Sports Complex.
Left-hander Payton Tolle made his Red Sox spring training debut, not something that typically happens after a player has already made not only their MLB debut, but their postseason debut as well.
But Tolle, who wasn’t in big-league camp last year, can now say he’s checked every debut box. His start lasted two innings, in which he struck out one batter and the only damage was a solo home run to Royce Lewis.
“He did good,” Cora said. “He made some pitches, velo was OK, threw strikes. That’s what we wanted to see today.”
Tolle wasn’t as pleased with his performance, though he feels some of his off-speed pitches are getting closer to where he wants them to be.
“I was kind of like, I mean, obviously unhappy,” he said. “Didn’t feel I had the ‘2K-kill’ that I wanted to. Especially with Lewis. Trying to get a ball up there, up and in, it just was in, in the honey-hole. Obviously, that ball was hit very hard, and the bat kept ringing a little bit in my head, but it happens. Thought I responded well. I was able to come back, get three outs.”
The Twins took an immediate 1-0 lead, doubled it when Lewis singled to drive in Luke Keaschall in the fourth. They held the Red Sox scoreless until the top of the fifth, when things began to unravel. Boston scored three runs apiece in the seventh and ninth, while the Twins made four errors in the contest.
Andruw Monasterio hit the first Red Sox home run of Grapefruit League play to get Boston on the board, and shortstop prospect Mikey Romero’s RBI single in the seventh put them in front for good. Romero’s knock followed a double by Kristian Campbell, who impressed at the plate for the second day in a row.
Samaniego scratched
Tyler Samaniego was due to make his Red Sox debut Saturday, but was scratched due to back tightness. Cora said the left-hander “should be fine.”
He wasn’t the only one; Twins starter Joe Ryan was scratched less than 20 minutes before first pitch due to lower back tightness on his right side.
Probable pitchers
Right-hander Brayan Bello is scheduled to start Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays, the first Red Sox spring training home game at JetBlue Park. Probable pitchers to follow are Garrett Whitlock, Jovani Morán, Greg Weissert, Tayron Guerrero and Devin Sweet.
Around the league
The New York Yankees are dealing with a stinky spring training situation after a sewage leak penetrated their clubhouse and outer hallway, and created pools of fetid water around George Steinbrenner Stadium. Impacted areas, which included the lower level of their team store, had to be closed or cordoned off, and The Athletic reported an area of one stadium entrance was torn up so pipes could be accessed. … Hall of Famer and Pittsburgh Pirates legend Bill Mazeroski passed away Friday at 89 years old. An eight-time Gold Glove second baseman, 10-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, Mazeroski made history in the 1960 World Series between the Pirates and Yankees as the first, and to date only, player to ever lead his team to victory with a Game 7 walk-off home run. … Phil Cuzzi and Mark Carlson are retiring from umpiring after 27 and 26 years, respectively. … Ahead of the World Baseball Classic, Baseball Reference has added WBC stats to players’ pages.
Red Sox top pitching prospect throws ‘unicorn fastball,’ teammate says
