Boston Red Sox: The losses continue to mount for a frustrated Rick Porcello
Boston Red Sox pitcher has gone from a Cy Young winner to a 12-game loser in what has so far been a frustrating third season in Boston.
If Rick Porcello got half the run support he got last season during his 20-game win season, his 4-12 record through 20 starts this season may not be as frustrating. But, despite the lack of offense in many of the games started, the Boston Red Sox pitcher is not pointing fingers.
Like any veteran pitcher, especially a defending Cy Young Award winner, Porcello knows he is the blame for many of those 12 losses.
Following a 3-0 loss to the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the doubleheader Sunday afternoon, Porcello did show a glimpse of frustration with how things have gone this season.
"“Last year I got 15 runs a game for me last year, so it is what it is,” Porcello said, via WEEI. “It’s baseball. It’s part of the game and you keep going out there every fifth day and try to give us a chance to win. That’s part of the job that you control. It is what it is.”"
Porcello trending in the right direction
After starting the season with control issues, Rick Porcello has bounced back to show some form of the pitcher he was in 2016. In the last five starts he has posted an ERA of 3.31. He has pitched deep into games. But again, has been victimized by a lack of run support.
Fortunately for Porcello, the Red Sox starting rotation has been strong. With Chris Sale leading the way, Porcello’s 4-12 record hasn’t hurt the team as badly as it could.
With the way Drew Pomeranz has been pitching as well as the return of both David Price and Eduardo Rodriguez, the first-place Red Sox have one of the best rotations in baseball.
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If Porcello continues trending upward and gets just a little bit of run support, the Boston Red Sox may have the best five-man rotation of all of baseball.
20-game loser?
With the 12 losses with about 13 starts left, the possibility of losing 20 games is now in question for Rick Porcello.
Could a pitcher really go from winning 20 games to losing 20 games?
It has happened before in baseball and it has happened to some of the best. Pitching legend Steve Carlton won 27 games for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1972 and lost 20 games in 1973.
And as Red Sox pitchers go, Cy Young himself was a 20-game loser in 1906. Pitchers Milt Gaston and Jack Russell were the last 20-game losers for Boston.
Related Story: Boston Red Sox: Rick Porcello’s quality starts need more support
Unless, he slips back into the struggles he had at the beginning of the season, 20 losses seem unlikely for Porcello. One has to think the offense will come around in games he starts and the good fortune will swing back his way.
At least, we hope so.
Next: Final Five: Who’s in the Boston Celtics crunch time lineup?
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