Alex Cora played coy when asked by reporters Thursday in Baltimore who would be making the start for Boston on Friday night at Fenway Park. As it turns out, the Red Sox manager had good reason.

The Red Sox will hand the ball to their top pitching prospect, Payton Tolle, to make his MLB debut on Friday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal first reported the news , with MassLive's Christopher Smith following up with the same information.

The Red Sox needed a starter for the game after pushing Dustin May back a day to Saturday.

Making the debut even more of a spectacle: The Pirates' starter will be Paul Skenes, who's the runaway favorite to win the National League Cy Young Award thi

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