Tolle Opens Royals Game With Immaculate Inning

After a nearly two-hour rain delay, Boston Red Sox rookie left-hander Payton Tolle opened Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Royals with an immaculate inning, striking out Nick Loftin, Bobby Witt Jr. and Jac Caglianone on nine pitches. Tolle threw eight fastballs and one sinker, recording seven swings and misses; Caglianone fouled off the sinker, while Loftin took a called third strike. The performance was Boston’s eighth immaculate inning, its first since Chris Sale in 2021, and only the second by a Red Sox pitcher in the first inning after Pedro Martínez accomplished the feat in 2002. Tolle also struck out Salvador Perez to begin the second inning before allowing a soft infield single later in the frame.