Payton Tolle delivers gem as Red Sox beat White Sox for fourth straight win

Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald on Jul 7, 2026

Published in Baseball

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Don’t look now, but the Boston Red Sox might actually have something going.

Powered by a dominant outing by Payton Tolle and a pair of second-inning home runs, the Red Sox beat the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox 8-1 in Tuesday’s series opener, giving the club their fourth straight win and their ninth in the last 11 games.

After months of uninspired baseball driven by an offense that often bordered on unwatchable, Tuesday’s performance was exactly the kind of effort the Red Sox lacked throughout the first half.

The Red Sox squandered a golden opportunity early, loading the bases in the top of the first and coming away empty handed, but made up for it with a big second inning. Andruw Monasterio broke the ice with a solo home run, and a couple of batters later Ceddanne Rafaela followed with a two-run shot to make it 3-0.

Boston kept putting pressure on White Sox left-hander Noah Schultz from there and scored again in the top of the fourth when Jarren Duran led off with a double, reached third on a wild pitch and came in to score on a Connor Wong bunt.

While the Red Sox offense went to work, Tolle gave the White Sox lineup fits.

The rookie left-hander carved up the White Sox over six shutout innings, holding Chicago to just two hits and a walk while striking out six. Tolle drew 15 whiffs and averaged 96.3 mph with his fastball, and after allowing a leadoff single to Sam Antonacci in the bottom of the second he retired 15 of the last 16 batters he faced.

Once Tolle came out of the game the White Sox made their move.

Facing left-hander Danny Coulombe, Chicago opened the seventh inning with a walk and two singles to load the bases with nobody out. Former Red Sox prospect Kyle Teel drove in a run on a fielder’s choice to avert the shutout, but right-hander Justin Slaten still faced a tough situation with runners at the corners and one out when he was summoned to put out the fire.

Slaten struck out both batters he faced, ending the threat and preserving the 4-1 Red Sox lead.

Garrett Whitlock came on and pitched a perfect eighth inning, and the Red Sox blew things open with four runs in the top of the ninth. Willson Contreras capitalized on a pair of walks by Brandon Eisert with a two-run double down the left-field line, Romy Gonzalez followed by shooting an RBI double of his own down the right-field line, and Duran wrapped up the scoring with an RBI single.

With the win the Red Sox are now 41-48, moving back within seven games of .500 after falling 14 games underwater as recently as June 24. Boston is also now 31-31 since Chad Tracy took over as interim manager, and with Baltimore’s 5-2 loss to the Cubs the Red Sox have moved out of last place for the first time since May 23.

The Red Sox have a chance to clinch their second straight series victory with another win over Chicago on Wednesday. Jake Bennett (3-3, 3.10) will take the mound against Davis Martin (9-3, 3.08) with first pitch scheduled for 7:40 p.m. ET.

Contreras an All-Star

The Red Sox announced Tuesday tha Contreras has been added to the American League All-Star roster as an injury replacement for Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who was voted as the AL’s starting first baseman by the fans but who won’t play due to a sore back.

Nick Kurtz of the Athletics will get the start in Guerrero’s place.

Contreras was one of MLB’s most notable snubs when the initial All-Star rosters were announced on Saturday, and with his inclusion the Red Sox now have three All-Stars. Closer Aroldis Chapman became a nine-time All-Star with his latest selection, and left-hander Ranger Suarez was also chosen for the second time in his career.

Suarez’s status for the game remains uncertain, however, after he left his last start Sunday with left adductor tightness. According to MassLive’s Sean McAdam, Suarez threw off flat ground Tuesday and is feeling better, but it’s unclear if he’ll make his next start Saturday.

Eaton’s suspension begins

Though the Red Sox are still awaiting clarity on whether Contreras’ seven-game suspension will be shortened on appeal, the club has been informed that Nate Eaton’s three-game suspension has been reduced to two, according to MLB.com’s Ian Browne.

Eaton’s suspension began Tuesday and will run through Wednesday. The Red Sox will play down a man until Eaton is reinstated.

Eaton and Contreras were both issued suspensions stemming from last week’s benches-clearing brawl involving the Washington Nationals. Regardless of the outcome of Contreras’ appeal, an MLB spokesperson told the Boston Herald the Red Sox first baseman is eligible to play in the All-Star Game.

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