Santiago (10-4) has now won six consecutive starts, posting a 1.78 ERA, all in the month of July.
Advertisement
But the one thing Porcello hadn’t accomplished all season, and all last season for that matter, was to throw a complete game.
Wright stayed in the game and allowed three earned runs on 10 hits in five innings in the Boston Red Sox’s 5-3 win over the Angels.
Tough, gritty performances like Porcello made last night will make Red Sox execs want to hold onto him like a life preserver, as Boston has been drowning in runs for the past week, especially in the later innings.
The win ties Porcello with Chris Sale, Stephen Strasburg, and Chris Tillman for 14 wins, the most of any Major League Baseball pitchers this season.
Wright picked up the ball and tagged Escobar for the inning’s first out.
It was Porcello’s first complete game since August 20, 2014, when he shut out Tampa Bay while pitching for Detroit. Skaggs got Pedroia to watch strike three go right by him. “But it’s kind of a risky thing thinking about that”.
On the second pitch of the at-bat, Pedroia blasted it over Trout and the centerfield fence, propelling the Sox to take a 4-3 lead.
After setting down Jackie Bradley, Aaron Hill, and Ryan Hanigan in order in the second, Lincecum got Brock Holt to ground out to start the third but again had control issues against both Betts and Pedroia.
By comparison, the Blue Jays are 17-35 when they score less than five runs.
What’s been most valuable about Porcello is his consistency. David Ortiz tied the game with a single to left that scored Bogaerts.
For what it’s worth, Pomeranz offered a rosier self-assessment after the game, lamenting little more than the pitch to Pujols. Betts ended up hitting a sacrifice fly to put the Red Sox up 3-2, and Lincecum escaped the inning without further damage after Pedroia grounded into a double play.
Lincecum’s final line was four runs on five hits in five innings with six walks, three strikeouts, and one home run. He gave up six hits, walked two and struck out four.
“I was out obviously supporting Pedey, and to be honest from the dugout, the height of the pitch, he had every right to complain”, Farrell said. “He couldn’t get his fastball into the zone”. Later on he did have some stretches where he looked like he was in sync and made some much better pitches. “Only thing I can do is wake up tomorrow”. Skaggs remained in the game and struck out Ortiz on three pitches.
Dustin Pedroia came through with another big homer against Huston Street. After steadying with back-to-back strikeouts, he allowed a run-scoring single to Mookie Betts. He was removed after giving up Bradley’s homer leading off the sixth.
“It went a lot better than I expected, to say the least”, Skaggs told MLB.com afterward. I took two fastballs, one for a strike, one for a ball. “Limiting baserunners and not giving free passes is huge and that’s what I have to do to give us a chance”. “I took a chance, a gamble, and that was my reward for it”.
Advertisement
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetDSI, the Red Sox have odds of -108 to beat the Angels today on the road while Los Angeles is -102 to win in its home park. The West Islip native is still weighing conservative options before deciding whether or to have Tommy John surgery. If the treatment is working, it’s conceivable Richards could begin a throwing program that would allow him to be ready by the start of next season.
