Game No. 40: Rays at Red Sox — Payton Tolle takes the mound in emotional Mother’s Day outing

TL;DR

Payton Tolle of the Boston Red Sox is set to pitch on Mother's Day, marking the first anniversary of his mother's death. Tolle's performance follows a strong outing last week, while the Rays counter with Nick Martinez, who has excelled this season.

Key points

Payton Tolle pitches on Mother's Day to honor his late mother
Tolle's last outing included seven shutout innings
Nick Martinez has excelled for the Rays this season
Game features key lineup changes for both teams
First pitch at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park

Payton TolleBoston Red SoxTampa Bay RaysNick Martinez

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 23: Payton Tolle #70 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates during the game against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on April 23, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images) | Getty Images Sometimes the universe — and especially the baseball universe — just lines things up in beautiful, unexpected ways you couldn’t engineer. Today, Payton Tolle is starting on Mother’s Day because the most powerful mother of all — Mother Nature — decided the Red Sox and Rays weren’t going to play their game yesterday when Tolle was originally schedule to pitch. Now, instead of pitching on the two year anniversary of his mother’s death, he’ll throw on the best day possible to celebrate her life. Tolle’s mother was an enormous inspiration to his baseball career, as Alex Speier detailed in his column today, and now in the first Mother’s Day since his big league debut, he’ll be the main character of the show. As far as the baseball goes, this is a chance to back up his seven shutout innings last time out against the Tigers on Monday. If he does something spectacular again, it will also be on top of ’s seven shutout innings on Friday, and given the Red Sox still haven’t seen the , and part of the rotation click together yet, we actually may be on the verge of unlocking an incredibly special rotation over the summer month of those guys get healthy and Early and Tolle keep growing into rotation regulars. On the flip side of the “is it real?” starting pitching questions, the Rays are sending 35-year-old to the mound. For most of his career, Martinez has been the very definition of mediocrity, bouncing back and forth between bullpen and starting rolls as well as MLB roles and time in the Japanese League. However, even since putting on a Rays uniform this year he’s been borderline unhittable, allowing two runs or fewer in all seven of his starts this season. He now leads the team with the best record in the American League in WAR. Lineup wise, it’s mostly what we’ve been seeing since went on the IL but with one key change. , the guy who replaced Anthony on the roster gets the start at catcher. I actually really like using Gasper here. With the rainout yesterday and the off day tomorrow, it’s the rare opportunity to give both Narvaez and Wong three straight days off by sitting them for just one game. (And it can really be four days off if you start Wong on Tuesday since Narvaez started on Friday.) That stuff matters in the marathon.

Q&A

Why is Payton Tolle pitching on Mother's Day?

Payton Tolle is pitching on Mother's Day to honor his late mother, as he was originally scheduled to pitch on the two-year anniversary of her death.

What has been Payton Tolle's recent performance?

Payton Tolle recently pitched seven shutout innings against the Tigers, showcasing his potential as a key player for the Red Sox.

How has Nick Martinez performed this season for the Rays?

Nick Martinez has been outstanding this season, allowing two runs or fewer in all seven of his starts, leading the Rays in WAR.

What is the significance of the game between the Rays and Red Sox?

The game is significant as it features Tolle's emotional start on Mother's Day and showcases two teams with strong pitching performances this season.

RAYS	RED SOX
Chandler Simpson – LF	Jarren Duran – LF
Junior Caminero – 3B	Willson Contreras – 1B
Ben Williamson – 2B	Wilyer Abreu – RF
Yandy Diaz – DH	Masataka Yoshida – DH
Ryan Vilade – 1B	Trevor Story – SS
Cedric Mullins – CF	Mickey Gasper – C
Jonny DeLuca – RF	Marcelo Mayer – 2B
Nick Fortes – C	Ceddanne Rafaela – CF
Taylor Walls – SS	Caleb Durbin – 3B

Nick Martinez – RHP	Payton Tolle – LHP
⚾️ First Pitch:1:35pm — Fenway Park, Boston MA
📺 TV:NESN
📻 Radio:WEEI

Game No. 40: Rays at Red Sox — Payton Tolle takes the mound in emotional Mother’s Day outing

TL;DR

Key points

Q&A

Related Articles

Notts edge first-leg win as Chesterfield rue early pen miss

Arteta praises 'bravery' from officials | Nuno: Refs don't know what a foul is

2026 Truist Championship TV schedule, coverage: Where to watch Sunday's final round at Quail Hollow

2026 Mizuho Americas Open prize money payouts for each LPGA player

Patriots rookie OT reveals biggest 2026 goal, and it's a lofty one

Juventus enquire about Napoli goalkeeper as fallback option for Alisson

More from Sports

Today’s Lineups