Red Sox atop AL East despite Porcello’s rough season

Last year’s AL Cy Young Award winner is this year’s major league leader in losses — and that’s not the only rea- son Rick Porcello’s 2017 stat line is noteworthy.

If Boston wins the AL East, Porcello (10-17) will have at least tied the mark for the most losses by a pitcher for a division champion. Since divisional play began in 1969, only three other pitchers have had 17 defeats for a team that finished first — and they all did it back in the 1970s, when starters were used differently and could rack up huge numbers of decisions.

In 1978, Kansas City’s Dennis Leonard went 21-17 with a 3.33 ERA to help the Royals win the AL West. Leonard made 40 starts, threw 20 complete games and was third in the league in strike- outs.

In 1974, Oakland’s Ken Holtzman was 19-17 with a 3.07 ERA. The Athletics won the last of their three straight World Series titles.

In 1973, Baltimo re’s Dave McNally went 17-17 with a 3.21 ERA. The Orioles won the AL East.

Porcello’s biggest problem this season has been home runs. He’s allowed 35, which is 10 more than his previous career high. The other major issue is his run support of 4.18 runs per nine innings. That’s the lowest mark of his career and not the type of figure you’d ex p ect for somebody pitching for a firstplace team. Porcello pitched 7 ⅓ innings Saturday, allowing no earned runs in a win over Ta mpaBay.Itwasone of his best outings of the season.

There may be some more c larity now in the races for the NL Central title and the AL’s second wild card.

The Cubs now lead the NL Central by four games over Milwaukee and six over St. Louis after Chicago swept three straight from the Cardinals.

Minnesota leads the Los Angeles Angels by two games for the second wild card in the AL, and it’s another 2 ½ back to Seattle.

Baltimore has lost nine of 11 and Texas has dropped sevenofnine.