Payton Tolle gave Fenway Park nine pitches worth saving Sunday. Every one was a strike, and the first three hitters in Kansas City’s order went back to the dugout without putting a ball in play.

The Red Sox left-hander opened his start against the Royals with an immaculate inning: strikeouts of Nick Loftin, Bobby Witt Jr. and Jac Caglianone on exactly nine pitches. After a rain-delayed start, Boston’s first defensive inning could hardly have moved more efficiently.

Jared Carrabis shared the complete sequence as it happened. Watch how little the hitters are able to change Tolle’s plan: even after seeing the fastball repeatedly, they cannot make the adjustment in time.

Seven misses, one foul, one called strike

MLB’s pitch-by-pitch record gives the inning its shape. Loftin swung through two four-seam fastballs, then watched a third for strike three. Witt swung and missed at all three pitches he saw. Caglianone fouled off a sinker before missing two more four-seamers to finish the inning.

That is seven swinging strikes, one called strike and one foul ball. The foul matters because an immaculate inning does not require nine swings and misses; it requires three strikeouts on nine pitches. Tolle got there with eight four-seam fastballs and one sinker, with the final pitch recorded at 97.9 mph.

MLB’s own highlight identifies the same three hitters and confirms the top-of-the-first sequence. The Boston Globe reported that it was the eighth immaculate inning in Red Sox history and the club’s first since Chris Sale did it against Minnesota on August 26, 2021.

Tolle had done something exceptional before Boston came to bat. The opening inning gave the crowd an immediate reason to forget the delay.

Boston’s pitching picture has two different kinds of promise

Tolle’s contribution is happening on the mound. The Red Sox are also watching Garrett Crochet work toward a possible return, a separate process that still comes with conditions.

In a September 9 interview on WEEI’s Greg Hill Show, interim manager Chad Tracy discussed what a healthy Crochet could add, including the possibility of using him for a short bullpen appearance. He emphasized that Crochet still had steps to complete. The interview below is that earlier discussion, not an announcement that Crochet has been cleared.

There has been progress since the interview. Boston.com reported Friday that Crochet threw from the Fenway mound, mixing sweepers with his fastball and cutter. Tracy said another session could come Tuesday if Crochet continued to feel well. A return this season was still not guaranteed.

Those updates belong together without being treated as the same story. Tolle supplied a finished highlight against major league hitters; Crochet’s work represents a possible addition that Boston cannot yet count on. One is nine pitches of proof, the other a recovery process with more work ahead.

For a fan trying to follow both, Sunday’s opening inning offered the easy part: press play, count to nine, and enjoy a young pitcher making a difficult lineup look briefly helpless.