Red Sox Game Postponed, Set for July 17 Doubleheader

The red sox game against the Rays was postponed just before first pitch on May 9 at Fenway because significant rainfall was expected to keep coming through the afternoon and evening. Boston will now make it up on July 17 as the first game of a split doubleheader at 1:35 p.m.

Fenway Rainout Shifts Payton Tolle

Payton Tolle was lined up to start for Boston before the weather forced the delay. The left-hander had already made one Fenway Park start this season, against the Yankees on April 23, and his first big-league win came Monday, when the Red Sox beat Tampa Bay 2-0.

That Monday win mattered because Connelly Early handled seven shutout innings, the kind of outing that let the club get through the night without leaning too hard on the rest of the staff. Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman finished it off, and Boston came away with its MLB-leading sixth shutout of the season.

Boston’s Recent Run

The postponement landed after the Red Sox had won four of their last five games and sat tied with Baltimore for fourth place in the AL East. The Rays entered at 25-13, while Boston came in at 17-22.

That gap is part of the backdrop, but the weather erased the immediate matchup before it could start. The rescheduled game now sits inside a split doubleheader, which turns one Fenway date into two games on July 17 and keeps the pitching plans from Saturday from carrying over untouched.

Early’s Work Fits Tracy’s View

Chad Tracy said after Early’s outing, “It’s easy (to push a young starter seven innings deep) when they’re pitching that way.” He also has a young arm in Tolle, who was ready for a first career start against the Rays before the rainout.

Wilyer Abreu put the offense’s recent stretch in plain terms: “Like I said early in the year, it’s just a matter of time for everybody to get back to the rhythm and the timing. The results are coming. Everybody can see it.” Boston now has to carry that form into a July doubleheader instead of a single May start, with the same opponent and a different rhythm.