Second year Cy of relief for Porcello
The ink has dried on Rick Porcello’s 2016 resume. It’s an impressive one.
The Red Sox right-hander boasts a 22-4 record, 3.15 ERA and 5.91 strikeout-to-walk ratio. With his regular season in the books, the waiting game begins. In David Ortiz’ mind, there isn’t any doubt.
“He’s the Cy Young, man,” Ortiz said. “He’s the Cy Young. No doubt about it. You can put it down like that. What he’s been doing this season, his numbers talk by them self.”
After a rocky opening act in a Red Sox uniform, this season has been a revelation for Porcello. His summer of 2016 has made a 9-15, 4.92 debut seem like a hazy, distant memory.
“I feel good about the body of work this year,” Porcello said. “More importantly, the consistency of giving us the chance to win. Providing something that you can count on every fifth day. That’s what I’ve been looking to do since I got here.”
He’s certainly accomplished that, as last night marked his 13th consecutive quality start. Porcello settled for a no-decision in his final start of the regular season, giving up three runs over six innings in the Red Sox’ 5-3 win over the Blue Jays.
With Toronto fighting for its playoff life, Porcello was pleased with his outing.
“That’s a good ballclub in Toronto and the more you face them, and the more they see you, it’s almost like the tougher it gets,” Porcello said. “So I felt good about tonight, made a couple of mistakes, but overall I feel really good and confident.”
Porcello’s next start will come against the Cleveland Indians, likely in Game 1 of the ALDS. It’ll be his first postseason start since 2011, but Porcello maintains his mindset won’t change.
“It’s my responsibility no matter what, whether it’s the regular season or the postseason, it’s my job to go out there and be productive and give us solid outings,” Porcello said.
Despite Ortiz’ confidence, the Cy Young race will be a nail-biter. Porcello appears to be the front-runner, but Toronto’s J.A. Happ (20-4, 3.20), Cleveland’s Corey Kluber (18-9, 3,14) and Chicago’s Chris Sale (17-9, 3.21) are nipping at his heels. Orioles closer Zach Britton will get votes, too, as he’s 47for-47 in save opportunities and has only allowed four earned runs all season.
Porcello wasn’t keen to gush about his remarkable rebound. When asked if his season could have gone any better, Porcello answered with team accomplishments instead.
“We’re in first place, we won the division and we got a really good ballclub going into the playoffs,” he said. “So I don’t think there’s a whole lot more you can ask for than that.”