Red Sox’ Rick Porcello Gets 18th Win

Boston Red Sox righthander Rick Porcello is stating his case as a serious Cy Young Award contender. Porcello allowed three runs and struck out seven in seven innings of work against the Tampa Bay Rays on August 29th and picked up his major league leading 18th victory of the season as the Red Sox beat the Rays 9-4 at Fenway Park. Porcello’s record is now 18-3 with a 3.26 ERA. Here’s some game highlights.

Porcello, 27, is already in his eighth big league season. He played his first six years with the Detroit Tigers, and had an interesting record. He was 14-9 as a rookie in 2009, and followed that with a 10-12 record in 2010, 14-9 in 2011, and 10-12 again in 2012. He broke the pattern with a 13-8 record in 2013, and then was 15-13 in 2014. He was then traded to the Red Sox, and had a disappointing 9-15 season with a 4.92 ERA in 2015. He’s already reached career highs in victories and strikeouts (152) and is on track for his best ERA (3.43 in 2014).

Porcello has been a big part of the Red Sox success this season. With the victory over the Rays, Boston improved to 73-58, two games behind first place Toronto.