TORONTO — When the minor league season began back in April, Payton Tolle figured a reasonable goal would be to finish the year in Double-A. He’d just been drafted the prior summer and was entering his first full professional season, so while reaching the majors was the ultimate goal, it didn’t necessarily make sense to put the cart before the horse.

Fast forward six months to Wednesday, and Tolle was on the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Red Sox moved within one win of clinching their first playoff berth since 2021.

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Tolle’s rapid rise from High-A Greenville to the majors has been one of the greatest success stories of the Red Sox system this year, and Thursday the 22-year-old was announced as one of this year’s Red Sox Minor League Award recipients.

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