Athletics at Boston Red Sox

BOSTON – Coming off the exhaustion and the euphoria of the night before – an unforgettable 12-11 win over the White Sox in 13 innings that tapped out their bullpen – what the Red Sox needed more than anything on Friday night was a strong start from Payton Tolle. What they got was the most dominant start of the rookie lefty’s young career. Powered by Tolle (six innings, two hits, no walks, career-high 14 strikeouts) and another barrage of offense that allowed almost a complete reset by the bullpen, the steam-rolling Red Sox continued their summer surge with a 13-1 victory over the Athletics that extended the club’s latest winning streak to nine games. In doing so, Boston (64-51) ripped off its 27th win in the last 30 games. Interim manager Chad Tracy’s squad is just the 10th team to go 27-3 or better in a 30-game single-season span since 1900, and the first since Cleveland in 2017.