Porcello starts in attack mode on Yanks
NEW YORK — Nobody, not even Chris Sale, threw a better start this season for the Red Sox than Rick Porcello.
And while it would be unfair for Red Sox fans to expect him to throw another one-hit complete game like he tossed against the Yankees on Aug. 3, anything resembling that gem will likely send the Sox home after today’s Game 4 in extremely high spirits.
So if anyone has a grasp on what it takes to tame a lineup as gifted as what the Yankees boast, it’s Porcello.
“I just think attacking their hitters, that’s the biggest thing,” said Porcello before the Red Sox beat the Yankees 16-1 last night in Game 3. “These guys are very good hitters. They’re very well coached. They have a solid approach. If you fall behind guys, you give them the opportunity to see pitches in the strike zone. That’s the only way you can get back into the count because they’re disciplined and they don’t chase a lot. I think attacking, being aggressive, and go from there.”
Porcello’s August start was not an outlier for him against New York. He made three other starts this season and went 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA over 231⁄3 innings. In 24 appearances and 23 starts against the Yankees, including the postseason, he is 10-9 with a 3.22 ERA.
In the postseason, Porcello’s record is decidedly more mixed. In his dozen career postseason appearances, he is 0-3 with a 5.33 ERA.
Obviously, the stakes could not be much higher for Porcello when he starts. He’ll want to repeat his success against the Yankees and avoid his past overall postseason efforts. Plus, a win tonight will clinch the best-of-five series and send the Sox into the ALCS against Houston.
“This is what it’s all about — you get an opportunity to have the ball in Yankee Stadium, Game 4, this is the culmination of the entire season leads up to your opportunities in the postseason,” said Porcello. “So I’m definitely looking forward to that and giving us a chance to win.”
Because Porcello pitched effectively in Game 1 out of the bullpen (two-thirds of a scoreless inning), he has had a head start on flipping his postseason script.
It’s a positive and encouraging trend.
“We saw it in Game 1, and we saw it throughout the season. He’s been actually good against them,” said Sox manager Alex Cora. “At one point of the playoffs, he was going to start, regardless if it was Game 3 or 4. It just happened that he came in relief in Game 1, and we decided to give him one more day.”
Porcello sees value in everything he’s learned from all of his postseason stints, as both starter and reliever.
“I think some of my experiences in Detroit, I started postseason games in Detroit, came out of the bullpen, just seeing what transpires, especially in a short series in five games, each game is essential,” said Porcello. “I mean, it’s not a seven-game set. You’ve got to do whatever you can. If you have the lead that night, you’ve got to do whatever you can to win, and if that means starting pitchers pitching, that’s what it means.”
Cora sees every reason to have every confidence in Porcello.
“Over the course of the season, talking to him, and we have a great relationship, I think, we’re very close, the way he goes about his business and how fiery he is and how he prepares . . . this guy, he gets it,” said Cora. “So I’m very confident that, regardless of what happens today, we have the right guy on the mound tomorrow.”