In case you haven’t heard, this Rick Porcello guy is having a pretty good season.
The Red Sox starter helped lead Boston to its 10th straight win Saturday with a 6-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. And because Porcello earned the decision, he became the first Red Sox pitcher to win 22 games since Pedro Martinez won 23 in 1999.
Now, no one is about to compare Porcello to Martinez. The latter had a ridiculous 1999 season, during which he went 23-4 with a 2.07 ERA and a whopping 313 strikeouts to win the American League Cy Young Award. But Porcello is in the running for this year’s award and isn’t doing too shabby himself at 22-4 with a 3.11 ERA, 183 strikeouts and a 0.99 WHIP.
Regardless of whether Porcello takes home any hardware this season, though, he’s been crucial to the Red Sox in 2016.
Wins are an overrated pitching statistic, but you can’t reach 22 on dumb luck alone. Porcello has been able to keep his composure in jams and eat innings and has done enough to be Boston’s No. 1 starter in the playoffs.
Still, we’re sure he wouldn’t mind if he won the Cy Young, too.
Here are some more notes from Saturday’s win.
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— The Red Sox’s 10-game win streak is their longest since 2009. It’s the first time they’ve won 10 or more in a row in September since the 1949 team pulled off an 11-game streak.
— There’s a situation where the Red Sox could clinch the American League East on their final off-day. If they beat the Rays on Sunday and the Toronto Blue Jays lose their next two games against the New York Yankees, then Boston would be crowned the division winner Monday while the club is just hanging out in New York ahead of its three-game series vs. the Yankees.
— The Cleveland Indians lost to the Chicago White Sox 8-1 on Saturday, so the Red Sox now have the second-best record in the American League at 91-64 behind the 92-63 Texas Rangers.
— David Ortiz, Major League Baseball manager? It could happen.
— The last Red Sox note is a fun one because the club has been having plenty of fun on its own.
First baseman Hanley Ramirez treated Dustin Pedroia like his little brother after the second baseman’s seventh-inning grand slam.
And Pedroia’s reaction was pretty funny.
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
