Porcello awakening
Fine start by righty keys Sox
As Rick Porcello walked off the mound, he was met with something he hasn’t experienced in quite a while: a standing ovation.
The Red Sox righthander didn’t electrify the crowd, but it wasn’t a disaster. By the standard he has established this year after winning the Cy Young Award last season, last night was good enough.
Porcello went 6 1⁄3 innings and — despite a rocky seventh inning — pitched efficiently through the first six as he helped the Red Sox to a 9-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels at Fenway.
“It was to me, vintage Rick Porcello,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said.
Porcello’s sinker looked as good as it’s been all year, a product of what Farrell said was a significant amount of extra work to straighten out mechanics.
“For a pitcher like Rick, it’s critical to stay on top of the baseball, create a downward angle to allow that sink to be more vertical rather than horizontal,” Farrell said. “He was able to get that right from the get-go here tonight, so an encouraging start on his part.”
It remains to be seen if the performance was an anomaly to his struggles or a personal turning point for his season. Either way it was much needed for Porcello, who improved to 4-9 with a 5.00 ERA.
“It’s always hard to come back in four days and completely correct what you’re trying to correct, but today was definitely a step in the right direction,” he said. “Most importantly just get out there and compete, stop thinking about all that crap and just go out there and execute pitches.”
Of course, run support always helps matters — something that’s been lacking for Porcello’s starts — but there was plenty on this special night for old friend David Ortiz.
The run came right away for the Sox. After Porcello threw a 1-2-3 first, Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia led off the bottom half with walks before Xander Bogaerts hit an RBI double to give the Sox a lead.
Angels pitcher Alex Meyer followed with a wild pitch to score Pedroia. Two batters later, another wild pitch allowed Bogaerts to score. Just like that, Porcello was working with a 3-0 lead.
The Angels got one back in the fourth, but the Sox responded with a pair of two-run homers. Hanley Ramirez slapped one the opposite way just beyond Pesky’s Pole for his 10th in the fourth. Sandy Leon blasted one into the bullpen in the sixth for a 7-1 lead.
It was another big night for Leon, who also hit a two-run double in the eighth. He was 3-for-4 with four RBI.
“Just a really good night offensively from him,” Farrell said. “If there’s a guy that continues to grind away, it’s Sandy, and on a night when he contributes offensively, just great to see from him.”
It was all plenty enough to overcome Porcello’s rocky seventh, when he gave up back-to-back deep hits to the triangle that ended his night, but not before putting together a desperately needed encouraging outing.