Rick Porcello owes every player in the Red Sox lineup a steak dinner.
Thursday night's 19-3 thrashing of the Yankees continues the Sox' trend of giving Porcello all the run support he needs, and then some. The right-hander acknowledged the offense's effort following the win.
"It's been absolutely incredible," Porcello told reporters. "It seems like that last three or four games I've pitched we've had damn near 20 runs."
Actually, Rick, it's the last five games you've pitched.
The Red Sox, who lead MLB in runs scored, have plated 10 or more runs in each of Porcello's last five outings. That makes him the first pitcher since Bill Hoffer in 1896 to get that kind of run support in five straight starts. That's 123 years for those of you counting.
Of course, Porcello is extra thankful for the Red Sox offense's outbursts because he's needed them for each of those starts. Entering Thursday night's game, he allowed four or more runs in his five most recent outings.
Boston will look to give the newest member of its rotation Andrew Cashner the same kind of cushion to work with in Game 2 of the series on Friday night.
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