Why Chris Sale believes Payton Tolle will 'be good for a long time'

For Payton Tolle (4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO), Thursday afternoon’s outing in a 10-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves was one to forget.

“I want to go as deep into a game as I possibly can, every time,” Tolle said. “You look at a day like today, I thought the strike percentage [68%] was fine. But it’s like, 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. Going as long as I did with how many pitches I had — I’m not gonna look back on this in a good light.”

Tolle’s 94 pitches set a new career high, but his 4.2 innings pitched were tied for his shortest outing of the season. He had gone at least 6.0 innings in three of his previous four starts, including 7.0 innings (1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO) in Detroit on May 4 and 8.0 innings (4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO) against these same Braves on May 16.

“I thought he was good. He battled,” Chad Tracy said. “The fourth inning stretched him a bit. They grinded some long ABs in that inning. They scored a couple of runs. They grinded ABs and were able to get a couple, and also just stretch the count. That’s probably when the count started to creep up there a little bit. I think that’s probably his highest pitch total of the year and only 4.2 [innings pitched], but all things considered, he kept us right there in the game.”

His manager wasn’t the only one who thought Tolle’s day was better than he gave himself credit for.

Old friend Chris Sale, who opposed Tolle on Thursday (5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 SO), and has been one of the best pitchers in baseball since being traded to Atlanta, pitching to the tune of a 33-11 record with a 2.38 ERA and 470 strikeouts in 61 appearances, while winning the National League Cy Young Award in 2024, was also impressed by the rookie left-hander.

“He’s definitely got an intensity to him,” Sale said. “I don’t think I could throw that many fastballs in a game and get through it the way he does. That was impressive. When I got done, I asked [pitching coach Jeremy Hefner] ‘What was his fastball percentage today?’ That’s very impressive. He looks like he’s built to last. He looks like he really enjoys competing, and he’s got great stuff, so he’s going to be a lot of fun to watch for a long time.”

Competing is what Tolle is all about, which is why, although he understood the decision, he didn’t want to come out of the game on Thursday.

“If I’m not competing, I’m not playing anymore. I want to be in the game every time,” Tolle said. “I get it. I understood I threw a lot of pitches, we’re through the order again, [Ozzie] Albies has already seen fastballs well today. But, I don’t ever want to come out of a game, especially whenever it’s my mess to clean up.”

To Sale, the left-handed quartet of Tolle, Garrett Crochet, Ranger Suarez, and Connelly Early reminds him of his time in Boston.

“When I was here, my first couple of years, we had four lefties in our rotation. And they’ve got four stud lefties in that rotation now,” he said. “[Tolle] is going to be good for a long time.”