Pirates Rally Past Red Sox 4-2 in Boston

BOSTON-Paul Skenes spun six strong innings and Pittsburgh’s veterans ignited a two-run comeback to carry the Pirates to a 4-2 victory over the Red Sox on Friday night at Fenway Park.

Boston lefty Payton Tolle, making his major-league debut after being called up earlier in the day, baffled hitters through five innings and struck out eight-becoming the first Red Sox pitcher to record eight or more strikeouts in his debut since Daisuke Matsuzaka in 2007. Tolle yielded just one hit and two walks before exiting following back-to-back singles in the sixth inning, his final line reading 5.0 IP, one hit, two walks, eight strikeouts, and no runs allowed.

After Boston scored an unearned run in the fourth on a Ceddanne Rafaela infield single and an Isiah Kiner-Falefa throwing error, the Pirates’ offense finally broke through in the sixth. Tommy Pham muscled a two-run double into center off Greg Weissert to tie the game, and Andrew McCutchen followed with a double of his own moments later, putting Pittsburgh ahead 3-2.

Dennis Santana slammed the door in the ninth for his 11th save, striking out the final batter on a 86.8 mph slider to seal Pittsburgh’s seventh win in nine games and hand Boston its first loss after a four-game winning streak.

Key Performances

• Skenes (9-9) allowed one earned run on seven hits with six strikeouts in six innings of work.
• Payton Tolle dazzled in his debut, striking out eight while allowing one hit over five innings.
• Tommy Pham delivered a clutch two-run double in the sixth inning.
• Andrew McCutchen finished 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Up Next Boston RHP Dustin May (7-10) and Pittsburgh RHP Johan Oviedo (1-0) will square off Saturday night for Game 2 of the series.