BOSTON — Boston Red Sox pitcher Payton Tolle stepped onto the Fenway Park field Sunday with emotions weighing heavily on his mind.
The 23-year-old left-handed pitcher made his start exactly two years and one day following the death of his mother, Jina, who lost her battle with colon cancer after fighting the disease for nearly eight years. In tribute to her memory on Mother’s Day, Tolle rolled up his uniform pants to display bright pink socks.
Saturday’s rainout gave Tolle additional time to contemplate the significance of taking the mound the following day.
“This week is really tough for me. I’m not going to lie to you,” he said, fighting back emotion following Boston’s 4-1 defeat to the Tampa Bay Rays. “It’s a tough weekend. I think yesterday would have been just as hard. I try to … it’s tough.
“So, I try to get away from it as much as I can but at the same time it’s life,” he said. “It’s part of it. Some things are bigger than baseball in that aspect.”
Jina passed away on May 9, 2024, at age 48, and Payton had been saving a particular song for a meaningful moment.
During his warm-up routine before the game, he selected “Mother” by Danzig as his entrance music. While he has frequently switched his walk-out songs throughout his career, this selection held special significance as a tribute to his mother.
“There’s a little of a joke with my dad,” he said, managing a slight grin. “Just that song, I’ve had it in the back pocket for a long time, so I think it’s a pretty good walk-out song. You’ve got to roll with it.”
During the game, Tolle (1-2) allowed three runs over five innings of work, surrendering seven hits while recording four strikeouts. The performance followed his breakthrough first major league win in his most recent outing, when he limited Detroit to just one hit while striking out eight batters on Monday.
When asked what his mother might tell him about Sunday’s performance, Tolle responded with a grin.
“Suck it up and do better,” he said, smiling.
