Winners out eight out of their past nine games, the Boston Red Sox still hold the first AL Wild Card spot. However, they are also now only three and a half games out of first place of the AL East. If the Red Sox hope to catch the Toronto Blue Jays, a weekend sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates at Fenway Park would certainly help. The Pirates will send ace Paul Skenes to the mound in the series opener Friday, and Boston will counter with rookie Payton Tolle, who will make his MLB debut after being promoted earlier in the day. ESPN's Buster Olney dropped an intriguing comp for Tolle from one evaluator on X (formerly Twitter).

“Evaluator says Payton Tolle, the prospect called up to the big leagues by the Red Sox, reminds him of David Wells,” reported Olney on Friday. “Very good command.”

If

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