Payton Tolle fans 14 as Red Sox win streak reaches nine

Payton Tolle struck out 14 Oakland Athletics batters in seven innings Tuesday night as the Boston Red Sox won 6-2, extending their winning streak to nine games.

It was the most strikeouts by a Red Sox pitcher in a single game since Clay Buchholz fanned 14 in 2013. Tolle, called up from Triple-A Worcester in early August, has allowed two runs or fewer in five of his last six starts. The A’s entered the game with the second-best offense in baseball by wRC+, but Tolle neutralized them with a mix of 95-mph fastballs and sharp breaking balls. Boston’s defense behind him made three errors, but none led to unearned runs.

The streak now ties the Red Sox for the longest active win streak in MLB. Boston’s offense exploded for 10 hits, including home runs from Rafael Devers and Trevor Story, and piled up 11 runners left on base. The win keeps the Red Sox within 4.5 games of the Yankees in the AL East and keeps a faint playoff pulse alive. Manager Alex Cora said after the game that the team’s recent surge—including a 7-2 stretch since the All-Star break—comes from better plate discipline and bullpen reliability.

Next up: a three-game set at Yankee Stadium. If Boston can take at least one game from New York, they’ll tighten the division race further. A full sweep would pull them within 1.5 games and set up a potential playoff rematch. For Tolle, it’s a chance to prove this outing wasn’t a fluke. The Red Sox need every arm they can trust down the stretch.