Red Sox left-hander Payton Tolle honors his mom, who passed away 2 years ago

BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox left-hander Payton Tolle took the Fenway Park mound on Sunday afternoon with a heavy heart.

Pitching two years and a day after his mother, Jina, died following a nearly eight-year battle with colon cancer, the 23-year-old Tolle wore his pant legs near his knees showing his pink socks on Mother’s Day.

When his start was rained out Saturday, Tolle had a lot more time to think about what pitching the next day would be like.

“This week is really tough for me. I’m not going to lie to you,” he said, holding back tears after Boston’s 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. “It’s a tough weekend. I think yesterday would have been just as hard. I try to … it’s tough.

“So, I try to get away from it as much as I can but at the same time it’s life,” he said. “It’s part of it. Some things are bigger than baseball in that aspect.”

Jina died on May 9, 2024, at 48 and Payton had a song in mind that he was holding for a certain day.

He took the mound, warming up for his start with the song “Mother” by the band Danzig playing in the background. He’s changed his song many times before he’s pitched but decided this was the one to honor his mom.

“There’s a little of a joke with my dad,” he said, cracking a bit of a smile. “Just that song, I’ve had it in the back pocket for a long time, so I think it’s a pretty good walk-out song. You’ve got to roll with it.”

Tolle (1-2) gave up three runs in five innings, with seven hits and four strikeouts. He was coming off his first big league victory in his previous start, when he gave up a hit and struck out eight at Detroit on Monday.

What would his mom say after this start?

“Suck it up and do better,” he said, smiling.

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Boston Red Sox's Payton Tolle delivers a pitch to a Tampa Bay Rays batter in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 10, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Boston Red Sox's Payton Tolle winds up to pitch to a Tampa Bay Rays batter in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 10, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Texas Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom earned his 1,900th career strikeout in the first inning in a 3-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, becoming the second-fastest pitcher to that milestone by games and innings.

Seiya Suzuki struck out swinging on a 91.3 mph slider to end the first inning after Moisés Ballesteros swung and missed on a 98.1 mph fastball, and deGrom went on to tie his season high for strikeouts with 10.

The 1,900th strikeout came in deGrom's 256th appearance, all as a starter. Hall of Famer Randy Johnson reached that mark in his 252nd game in 1997.

Johnson is second on the career strikeout list at 4,875. The left-hander was 33 when he reached 1,900, while deGrom turns 38 next month and has dealt with numerous injuries the past five years.

After the first inning, deGrom was at 1,578 1/3 for his career. Atlanta left-hander Chris Sale reached the milestone in 2019 at 1,560 1/3 innings, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

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Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob Degrom throws to the Chicago Cubs in the first inning of a baseball game Sunday May 10, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)