Porcello grinds to Pedro-like No. 22
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Rick Porcello last night became the first Red Sox starter to win 22 games in a season since Pedro Martinez went 23-4 in 1999.
Porcello was flattered, but he’s much more focused on how many games the Red Sox are winning lately — 10 in a row right now — and where those wins can lead them.
“Yeah, obviously, that’s incredible to even be mentioned in that sentence with him,” said Porcello, who went 61⁄ innings in the Red 3 Sox’ 6-4 victory. “We’re in a real good position as a team right now so hopefully we can continue this roll that we’re on and carry it.”
The Red Sox went to the ALCS back in 1999, and while the book’s not complete yet on whether Porcello can win 23 games or the Red Sox can make it to the ALCS, the victory last night did lead to the team clinching a playoff berth. Their eyes are on a larger prize — the AL East — but they’ll take this feat.
“It’s obviously big, it’s the position we wanted to be in this last week in September,” said Porcello. “We definitely want that division, so we’re going for it.”
Porcello’s start was not up to his recent gold standard but he was more than good enough to handle the Rays and keep the Sox in the game long enough to stage a late rally. The Rays bunched all their runs in the third inning off a Brad Miller two-run double and a Corey Dickerson RBI single. Strong defensive plays kept the damage from getting worse and preserved the opportunity for Porcello to settle in over the next three-plus innings.
He finished with eight hits and one walk allowed, with nine strikeouts.
“I felt like I had good stuff, I definitely made a lot of mistakes, especially early on in the game and then after the inning where they scored those runs I was able to settle back down, and started executing my pitches better,” said Porcello, who is now 22-4 on the season with a 3.11 ERA. “I definitely had a better four-seam fastball, it had (more) life on it than maybe in some previous starts. Felt good, just made some mistakes early on.”
Manager John Farrell was more than happy with Porcello’s evening.
“I thought he might have been up in the zone maybe a little bit more than we’ve seen for the majority of Rick’s starts, but there were a number of men in scoring position where he did a great job once again, either inducing soft contact (or) getting a big strikeout,” said Farrell.
Porcello’s streak of 11 starts in which he lasted at least seven innings and allowed three runs or fewer was snapped, leaving him tied for the team record with Martinez (2000) and Cy Young (1904).
Porcello is now 5-0 with a 3.07 ERA in his six starts against the Rays this season, the first Sox pitcher to win five games in one season against an opponent since Luis Tiant won five against the Yankees in 1974.