After splitting their four-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium this week, the Pittsburgh Pirates will wrap up their road trip with a three-game weekend series against the Boston Red Sox.
Paul Skenes is set to start Friday’s series opener, which will be his first time facing the Red Sox and his first Major League appearance at Fenway Park.
It will also be the Fenway debut of his opponent, Payton Tolle, who will make his first career start for Boston after being called up from Triple-A Worcester on Thursday (per multiple sources).
Tolle, 22, is the Red Sox’s top pitching prospect and No. 2 overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. A second-round draft pick last year, he’s rocketed through Boston’s farm system this season, going from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A to the Majors in just five months.
The towering lefty pitched well at every stop, going 3-5 with a 3.04 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP and a 13.1 K/9 in 91 2/3 Minor League innings.
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He draws a tough first assignment against a hot Pirates team that’s won seven of its last 10 games. He’s also going up against arguably the best pitcher in baseball in Skenes — the frontrunner for the National League Cy Young Award with his MLB-leading 2.07 ERA and 6.2 pitching WAR.
Meanwhile, Skenes will try to cool off the surging Red Sox, who are back home after a 7-1 road trip against the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles. They’ve been one of the best teams in baseball over the last three months and feature a potent offense, ranking fourth in MLB in runs per game.
Neither lineup has faced the opposing pitcher before (and vice versa), setting the stage for an intriguing showdown at MLB’s oldest ballpark to kick off Labor Day Weekend.
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Featured image via Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images