The notion of Payton Tolle as a unicorn is wildly entertaining, if only because it’s easy to imagine the affable lefthander embracing the title and showing up one day with extensions for his mustache and a horn sculpted in his facial hair. But such antics are unnecessary for a pitcher who, in mound demeanor and execution, cuts a figure like few others.
The rookie delivered a sterling performance against the Orioles on Wednesday night, cruising through six shutout innings in an 8-1 Red Sox victory. Throwing almost nothing but hard stuff — 95 of Tolle’s 99 pitches were four-seamers, sinkers, or cutters — the lefthander elicited 17 swings-and-misses, the second most in any start of his career.
In how he attacks hitters, Tolle (3-2, 2.28 ERA) is wonderfully unusual. Thanks to his ridiculous 7.4 feet of extension down the mound when releasing the ball, the 6-foot-6-inch, 250-pound Tolle seems like he’s punching hitters in the face. And then when he releases the ball, he punches hitters in the face with a mix of hard, hard, and hard.
Read more from Alex Speier at BostonGlobe.com/Sports. | 
