NewsPorcello wins lucky 13 to end Tigers' skid
Detroit's offense comes alive after recent struggles
By Jason Beck / MLB.com
09/13/09 6:21 PM ET
DETROIT -- The first meeting between Rick Porcello and Ricky Romero back in April was a historic debut. The second meeting Sunday was a milepost that ended up being historic.Right now, Porcello looks like a different pitcher, not only compared with Romero, but compared with himself.
"In some ways, I think he's pretty sharp. I think he's pretty smart," manager Jim Leyland said of his 20-year-old starter after his six quality innings helped the Tigers end a five-game losing streak with a 7-2 win over the Blue Jays on Sunday at Comerica Park.
"I think he's sharp," Leyland said. "And I think he's trying to tell us, 'Stop the babying. I'm OK.' In his own way, I think he's telling us."
"His own way" Sunday amounted to a fastball that topped out at 96 mph, a slider that has supplanted his curveball as his breaking pitch of choice, and eight straight Blue Jays retired to start the game. On a day when Porcello allowed more fly balls than ground balls, usually a quick demise for a sinkerball pitcher, the American League Rookie of the Year Award candidate did much more than get by.
After looking like a kid running out of gas six weeks ago, Porcello (13-8) has become a power pitcher. With three wins in his past four starts, he also became the first Major League pitcher since Dwight Gooden in 1985 to win 13 games in a season before turning 21.
The Tigers, meanwhile, ended their season-high five-game losing streak and expanded their lead to 5 1/2 games in the American League Central with a White Sox loss and Twins victory. Detroit's magic number now stands at 15.
That won't stop the Tigers from keeping a close eye on Porcello, but the fact that Leyland let him pitch past the 100-pitch mark in mid-September says quite a bit. The club believes he's growing up.
"He's got that swagger going," catcher Gerald Laird said. "He knows he belongs now. He's had success. He just tries to get better with every outing."
To describe how different a pitcher Porcello is now from the kid who took the mound at Rogers Centre five months ago, requires more than just a look at one game. Everything from curveballs that hung in the strike zone for home runs, to sinkers that batters tried at times to sit on for base hits, to that well-noted fracas at Fenway Park last month, all have had an impact on him.
In many ways, he's still the same quiet kid from New Jersey who sometimes tries to be seen more than heard as a Major League rookie. But his pitching presence is hard to ignore. Now, so is his power fastball.
That progression shows in the stats. Since the start of August, Porcello is 4-1 with a 3.40 ERA in nine starts, scattering 39 hits over 50 1/3 innings. His past two outings have seen more fly balls than ground balls, now a sign that hitters are struggling to adjust to his new look.
The Blue Jays hit six home runs over the first two games of this series, but managed only one extra-base hit off Porcello, an Edwin Encarnacion RBI double for Toronto's first run of the game in the fifth.
"There's been a lot of ups and downs this year, a lot of stuff that I've learned," Porcello said. "There's been some setbacks, too. I think the biggest thing is I've been trying to use my four-seamer more. At times, I think I can overpower guys with my four-seamer. Earlier in the year, I felt like all I had was the sinker. That's a big advantage for me.
"Whether it's overpowering or not, it gives them a different look to get them off my sinker, so that I can go back to it when I needed to. There were a couple at-bats today where I knew guys were definitely trying to sit on my sinker. I was trying to pound them away with four-seamers, and we were able to get a couple of pretty big hitters out. I think that's one of the bigger improvements I've made throughout the year."
Part of the credit comes from sharing observations with Laird, who has caught him for 20 of his 27 starts.
"This game's about adjustments," Laird said, "and Ricky's making adjustments. It's on me to see what guys are looking for. Up there, they were just taking four-seamers all game, looking for that sinker. I think it was one of those things that they hadn't seen him all year, except for that first time. I'm sure the scouting reports say sinker, and he's really developed that four-seamer."
That first meeting pitted Porcello against Romero in the first meeting of two former first-round Draft picks making their Major League debuts on the mound. Porcello lost that matchup with a go-ahead homer from Adam Lind on a hanging offspeed pitch.
Detroit's offense had been limited by left-handers Brian Tallet and Lenny DiNardo earlier in the week, but the Tigers' bats awakened to pound out 10 hits in six innings against Romero (12-8). Two of those were RBI singles from Laird in the second and third. Two more came from Miguel Cabrera and Brandon Inge, driving in two more runs in the third. Three runs in the eighth off Josh Roenicke put the game away.
Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
