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Much like with his WooSox debut in 2025 (in which he allowed six runs in the first inning, but settled in to scatter three hits over his next four innings), there was still a lot of good in a start that resulted in an ugly stat line.
Tolle brought the heat in the first inning of his season debut against the Syracuse Mets on Sunday, getting leadoff man Nick Morabito to strike out swinging on a 97 mph fastball. He finished off Ryan Clifford with another heater, catching him looking on strike three, and then got Ronny Mauricio to ground out weakly on a cutter. He needed just 10 pitches to get through the first inning.
Payton Tolle smiles during his first start of 2026 on March 29, 2026 at Polar Park.Katie Morrison-O'Day
Trouble started in the second as he walked the leadoff man in Jose Rojas before giving up a single and then a two-run double. He cranked the velocity up to 98 to get a swinging strikeout to escape the inning without any more damage.
A leadoff walk was bad news yet again for Tolle in the third, as a walk, single and double steal put runners on second and third, and an error in the outfield let in a run. But a pair of sharp singles plated another three runs and suddenly the WooSox and Tolle were looking at a 6-0 deficit.
Even after a rocky third, Tolle went out for the fourth and finished his outing on a strong note. He forced the number nine hitter Yonny Hernandez to pop out weakly before running into a 3-0 count on Morabito. Tolle came back and attacked Morabito, getting him to pop out in foul territory on the sixth pitch of the at-bat. He got his last hitter, Clifford, to strike out looking on a 96 mph sinker.
“I thought there was a lot of good in there,” Worcester manager Chad Tracy told the Telegram and Gazette on Sunday. “He had big stuff, the ball was jumping out of his hand (and) in the first inning he came out and looked great. For me, it was the little things around the margin that put him in tougher spots.
“His stuff looked good. (The) first inning was great, (the) last inning was great,” Tracy said. “I was encouraged to see the ball jumping out of his hand (and) encouraged by the stuff.”
It was just the fourth Triple-A start for Tolle, who rocketed through the level last year on his way to joining the Red Sox in late August. He was in the mix to make the major league team right up until the end of spring training, posting a 2.53 ERA and 0.84 WHIP with 13 strikeouts in 10 2/3 Grapefruit League innings this spring.
“His last couple outings in spring training were really good,” WooSox manager Chad Tracy told media last Saturday. “It was 98 (miles per hour) and strike after strike after strike, with a lot of punch outs.”
Payton Tolle throws a pitch his first start of 2026 on March 29, 2026 at Polar Park.Katie Morrison-O'Day
The decision to start Tolle in Worcester may have come as a disappointment, not just to Tolle, but to fans who want to see the mustachioed pitcher with a big personality and fastball to match. But he took away what he needed to do to get back to that level after spring training.
“I’ve just got to compete, got to throw what I can in zone,” Tolle said in March. “And that’s pretty much the message of it, is how am I going to be my best every day? How am I going to be the most refined pitcher I can be for whenever they want to call me up.”
Notes
- The WooSox set a new Red Sox Triple-A record with 20 walks in a wild 19-3 win on the road Tuesday in a St. Paul. First baseman Mickey Gasper led the way with four of those, going to the plate seven times and reaching five times. Kristian Campbell, catcher Jason Delay and third baseman Vinny Capra each walked up three walks as well.
- In an exciting victory the next day, the WooSox relied on some small ball to overcome a one-run deficit in the ninth and come back to beat the Saints, 5-4. With runner Nate Eaton on third, Tsung-Che Cheng dropped a beautiful sacrifice bunt to tie the game before Matt Thaiss singled in the winning run.
Performance of the Week
Nick Sogard fields a ground ball during a WooSox game on March 27, 2026 at Polar Park.Katie Morrison-O'Day- Nick Sogard has been on fire in the first week of his fifth season in Worcester, going 6-for-16 over his first five games. The utility man who has seen his fair share of time in Boston over the last couple of seasons is showing off some power to begin 2026, launching two home runs in the WooSox’ 19-3 win in St. Paul, including a grand slam. Maybe more eye-popping is the fact that he’s walked seven times but only fanned once in 23 plate appearances.
What’s Next
- The WooSox got hit with some winter weather in Minnesota as Thursday’s game was postponed. Jake Bennett will likely make his second start of the season on Friday, weather permitting, followed by Tyler Uberstine on Saturday and Payton Tolle’s second outing of 2026 on Sunday to finish off the series before the team returns home to take on Columbus, the Guardians’ Triple-A affiliate, next week.
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