5 takeaways as Payton Tolle and Chris Sale battle before Braves pull away for 10-2 victory
The Red Sox are now 9-19 at home and haven’t won a series at Fenway Park since early April.
Payton Tolle delivers a pitch against the Braves on Thursday._Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe_
By Trevor Hass
May 28, 2026
6 minutes to read
- Share
#### Share
Close
Send this article to your social connections.
- Email #### Email
- Facebook #### Facebook
- X #### X
- LinkedIn #### LinkedIn
- BlueSky #### BlueSky
- Threads #### Threads
- WhatsApp #### WhatsApp
- Copy Link #### Copy Link
- Share
#### Share
Send this article to your social connections.
- Email #### Email
- Facebook #### Facebook
- X #### X
- LinkedIn #### LinkedIn
- BlueSky #### BlueSky
- Threads #### Threads
- WhatsApp #### WhatsApp
- Copy Link #### Copy Link
COMMENTARY
Picture this, for a moment, if you will.
It’s a beautiful spring night at Fenway Park, the bleachers are buzzing, and Chris Sale takes the mound boasting a 1.89 ERA and residing firmly in the Cy Young discussion.
The 37-year-old future Hall of Famer leads his Major League-leading club to another win over an inferior opponent. He doesn’t have his best stuff, but as usual, he does enough to give his team a chance before the star-studded lineup takes care of the rest.
It’s a lovely scenario, but there’s just one problem for Red Sox fans. Sale plays for the Braves, and the Braves haven’t called Boston home since 1952.
Advertisement:
The Red Sox had a chance to use Wednesday’s victory over Atlanta as a springboard. Instead, they took another step back in a disheartening 10-2 loss Thursday night. Boston has now lost five of six and continues to play an uninspiring brand of baseball.
“I think there was a lot of good in this homestand,” said third baseman Caleb Durbin. “Obviously, at the end of the day, it’s wins and losses that matters.”
Here are five takeaways as a disappointing season gets even worse.
Left on left
Two overpowering, 6-foot-6-inch, lefties — one the face of the past and the other perhaps the face of the future — went head to head Thursday in a heavyweight battle.
Advertisement:
Both Payton Tolle and Sale shined in spots but struggled in others, each allowing two runs in the fourth inning after escaping unscathed earlier in the game.
“I try not to get caught up in it,” Tolle said. “This week, with the pitching matchup, was very similar to last year with the debut with [Paul] Skenes. Sale is a guy that I’ve watched for a long time.”
Chad Tracy about Payton Tolle's start: "All things considered, [he] kept us right there in the game." 🎙️ Presented by @WBMasonCopic.twitter.com/yDK5hVTi0n — NESN (@NESN) May 28, 2026
Tolle still has a long way to go to reach the same echelon as Sale, of course, yet it’s worth noting that he held his own and just about matched his counterpart’s performance.
Tolle (4 ⅔ innings, 5 hits, 2 earned runs, 7 strikeouts, 2 walks, 94 pitches, 64 strikes) retired the first six Braves he faced before allowing a double in the third. Atlanta put runners on second and third in the fourth and capitalized when a ball off Jorge Mateo’s bat hit Tolle in the glove. Old friend Dominic Smith then singled to left to make it 2-0.
“I want to be able to get deep into games and put myself in the best position to win and put this team in the best position to win,” Tolle said. “Going as long as I did, with how many pitches I did, I’m not going to look back at this one in a good light.”
Advertisement:
Sale’s first few innings weren’t as smooth, as the Red Sox put a runner in scoring position in the first, second, and third. They tied it up when Durbin smoked a double to left and Jarren Duran singled to left.
Sale (5 innings, 6 hits, 2 earned runs, 8 strikeouts, 3 walks, 1 hit batsman, 96 pitches, 61 strikes), who entered 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA and 18 strikeouts in two starts with Atlanta against Boston, didn’t dominate like he had in the past. He and Tolle, however, both did enough to give their team a chance.
“It was what you’d expect,” said Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy. “That being said, I thought we did a good job with Sale. You don’t go into a game against Sale thinking we’re going to score nine. You’d like to, but we had multiple runners on base in each of the first three innings and answered there with the two.”
Immediate response
The Red Sox have struggled to rally from early deficits all season, and they deserve credit for immediately bouncing back after Atlanta scored two runs.
Following an eight-run explosion the night prior, the fourth inning was another step in the right direction for a team that has lacked a killer instinct most of the way.
Advertisement:
Isiah Kiner-Falefa drew a walk, Durbin gave one a ride and wisely advanced to third on the throw home, then Duran didn’t try to do too much and brought Durbin home.
…