Boston Red Sox
Chad Tracy pulled Payton Tolle at 85 pitches to set up the Slaten, Garrett Whitlock, Aroldis Chapman combination, but it backfired on him Friday night.
Justin Slaten only retired two batters before giving up his place on the mound Friday night. (Barry Chin/Globe Staff)
Payton Tolle had a very solid start for the Red Sox on Friday night, finishing with nine strikeouts. He had a rocky second inning, though; even though he battled on afterward, Chad Tracy made a move for the bullpen after the sixth inning.
He sent Justin Slaten out for the seventh inning, and everything went horribly wrong.
Slaten only retired two batters before being yanked. In not even a full inning of work, he gave up four hits, four runs — including two home runs — and only one strikeout. Greg Weissert came out to clean things up and get out of the inning, but the damage was done.
Boston had some fight left in the bottom of the eighth inning, but stranded two runners on base and failed to tie. Minnesota added an insurance run in the ninth, and that was it.
After the loss, Tracy explained his decision to pull Tolle on 85 pitches.
“For me, not much [of a decision], just because at the time it was, ‘let’s just hope he gets through five’,” Tracy said. “Once he got through six and you got [Slaten], Whit, and Chapman lined up and you’re about to go through the order a fourth time.
“Obviously it didn’t go the way we wanted it to, but it was pretty clear-cut we were going to go there.”
Despite making that call, though, Tracy defended Tolle’s performance carrying on after his second inning woes.
“He was good. … Obviously the second inning was long, they batted through the order,” Tracy explained. “I thought there were some times when he was missing bigger than he usually does, but I give him a lot of credit … he did a nice job to settle in and keep the lead for us.”
Friday felt like a wasted night for Boston’s offense; it’s only posted six or more runs in roughly 20 percent of games this season, and its latest outburst was overshadowed by an even larger one for the Twins.
“Just one of those nights. I’ve been feeling really good, tonight just didn’t have my stuff,” Slaten told reporters postgame. “It’s the game we play, sometimes you just got to go out there and battle with what you got, and it just didn’t go my way tonight.”
To his credit, Slaten has pitched very well in 2026. He came into Friday’s contest with zero earned runs allowed on the season, and as Tracy alluded, his combination with Aroldis Chapman and Garrett Whitlock has been stellar for the Red Sox.
But Friday night was far from stellar for Slaten. Boston will head into Saturday down on the series against the Twins.
Get the latest Boston sports news
Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.
