Red Sox name rookie Payton Tolle to start Wild Card opener against Yankees

Payton Tolle will start Tuesday’s American League Wild Card opener for the Red Sox against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Manager Chad Tracy made the choice public Monday, settling Boston’s biggest rotation question before a best-of-three series. New York will start Cam Schlittler. First pitch is set for 8 p.m. Eastern on NBC and Peacock.

Tracy chose the 23-year-old left-hander over Sonny Gray, who will start Game 2. Ranger Suárez is lined up for a deciding Game 3 if the series reaches Thursday. Boston is asking a rookie to take the opening assignment against the pitcher who ended its 2025 season: Schlittler threw eight scoreless innings in last year’s decisive Wild Card game. The Yankees plan to follow Schlittler with Max Fried, then Gerrit Cole if a third game is needed.

The choice has a matchup basis beyond Tolle’s age or the rivalry. In two starts against New York this season, he allowed one run in 13 innings, struck out 18 and held the Yankees to four hits. That produced a 0.69 ERA and a .093 opponent batting average. Across 26 regular-season starts, Tolle went 9-6 with a 3.03 ERA, 171 strikeouts and 40 walks in 148 2/3 innings. Gray’s 18-5 record and 2.72 ERA gave Boston a credible alternative, but Tracy pointed to Tolle’s power stuff when explaining the Game 1 call.

Tolle is new to a postseason start, though he has been on this stage before. He appeared briefly in last year’s Wild Card series, retiring one Yankees hitter in relief. His rise this season changed the assignment: he began the year outside Boston’s rotation, was called up for good in April and finished as its Game 1 choice. At 23 years and 332 days, MLB says he will be the third-youngest Red Sox pitcher to open a playoff run.

The series also gives Boston an immediate test of its offense and health. The Red Sox have reported uncertainty around Willson Contreras’s right hand and Mickey Gasper’s biceps; their status belongs to the final roster and lineup announcements, rather than any assumption about Tuesday’s starters. For now the pitching plan is set. Boston needs one win behind Tolle to move within a game of advancing, while a loss would put Gray into an elimination start Wednesday. Tolle discussed the assignment at the club’s Monday workout-day media session.