Boston Red Sox: Moments where ALDS Game 1 was lost
By Sean Penney
Porcello blasted in the third
In the opening frame we saw the Rick Porcello that was arguably the best pitcher in the league this season, as he struck out the side in a shutdown inning after his offense had handed him a lead. Even after he allowed Cleveland to tie the game with a pair of hits to open the second, Porcello settled down to limit the damage and remain in control.
Then the third inning happened.
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Porcello coughed up three home runs in the inning, including a lead-off shot by Perez and back-to-back homers by Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor with one out. Mike Napoli followed with a moon shot that was crushed further than any of them, but luckily was pulled foul.
Porcello allowed three home runs in a game only twice all season, but never in his career had he allowed three in one inning.
If it’s any consolation, at least all three were of the solo variety. The ball was flying out of Progressive Field last night, with each team smashing three home runs, none of which came with runners on base. The damage could have been worse given that Porcello was essentially serving batting practice in the third inning, but it proved to be enough to put Cleveland ahead for good.
For the first time this season, Porcello failed to make it through five innings, surrendering a season-high five earned runs in the process. It’s been an amazing bounce-back season that surpassed all of our expectations, but if Porcello doesn’t end up getting another start this postseason he’ll have saved his worst performance for last.