When Payton Tolle was competing to make the Boston Red Sox roster during spring training, the 6-foot-6 left-handed starting pitcher dropped an old and incredibly amusing phrase to describe how he was approaching the situation. “Fight like your the third monkey trying to get on The Ark and it's starting to rain.” This admirable resilience helps explain why Tolle instantly became a fan favorite, and it is the exact type of thinking the Sox will need to collectively embody if they are going to save their season on Wednesday night.

Tolle tried to set the tone in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series, but the New York Yankees grabbed an early 1-0 lead and eventually cruised to a 9-0 victory in The Bronx. Despite racking up a high pitch count and giving up costly hits to the bottom of the order, the rookie hurler allowed only one run through 4 2/3 innings. Nevertheless, manager Chad Tracy replaced him with fellow southpaw Erik Miller, who promptly surrendered a 423-foot solo home run to Ben Rice.

The bullpen combusted and the game fell completely of reach, but the free-falling offense looked lifeless all night, anyway. The Sox as a group failed to match up with the Yankees, and now they are one loss away from heading home for a long offseason (potentially a really long offseason). Tolle is doing his part to instill hope in the team, and he is doing so in the only way he knows how.

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“I haven't heard the fat lady sing yet, so we're just going to keep going out there,” the 23-year-old said, per NESN. “I believe in us… We've been here before. We were here in June, so we're just going to keep fighting and punch back tomorrow.”