BOSTON — The radar gun at Fenway Park flashed 100 mph when Red Sox 22-year-old lefty Payton Tolle struck out AL Rookie of the Year front-runner Nick Kurtz swinging to end the fifth inning.

“I saw it. I was like, ‘Oh, man, I sure hope that stays 100, doesn’t roll down to 99,’” Tolle said.

Unfortunately for Tolle, the fastball clocked at 99.7 mph on Statcast, falling just shy of triple digits. Fortunately for the Red Sox, though, Tolle showed promise in his first big-league relief appearance.

The Red Sox lost 5-3 to the Athletics on Thursday to drop the three-game series, 2-1. Starter Brayan Bello lasted only four innings; the offense struggled; Trevor Story committed two errors; and Boston’s lead over Cleveland for the final wild-card spot dropped to 1½ games.

Tolle’s outing was argu

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