FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Rick Porcello is still working on his first-inning issue. The issue dogged him throughout much of last season and it remains a work in progress.
But while he battles to correct his performance early in games, there was no disputing how well he finished. In his fifth and final inning Friday night against the Minnesota Twins, Porcello needed just 10 pitches -- eight for strikes -- to record the final three outs in the Red Sox' 4-2 win.
"That last inning, for me, was by far the best inning of the game and maybe all spring,'' said Porcello. "I want to continue to build off that, and get better early in the game.''
Asked what he liked about the fifth, Porcello said: "I was efficient with my pitch location, aggressive, good tempo, a quick inning...all that stuff. I used all of my pitches and they were all effective.''
"He finished strong,'' said Alex Cora. ''He had a good mix of the sinker and cutter and was down in the zone. He got some swing-and-misses, some strike calls and finished with conviction. Especially with the way he threw that last inning, I was very pleased with how he performed tonight.''
Porcello Under the Lights:
5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 SO pic.twitter.com/ACFhhxa8Uz
— Red Sox (@RedSox) March 17, 2018
DOUBLE the fun. ? pic.twitter.com/IYBWT8IQEG
— Red Sox (@RedSox) March 16, 2018