Who will be the Red Sox’ No. 2 starter, David Price or Rick Porcello?
Welcome to Boston.com’s Sports Q, our daily conversation, initiated by you and moderated by Chad Finn, about a compelling topic in Boston sports. Here’s how it works: You submit questions to Chad through Twitter, Facebook, email, his
Friday chat, and any other outlet you prefer. He’ll pick one each day (except for Saturday) to answer, then we’ll take the discussion to the comments. Chad will stop by several times per day to navigate. But you drive the conversation.
Barring disaster, the Red Sox look like a playoff team for sure. They have the ace that every contender needs in Chris Sale. But here’s my question. If and when they do get to October, who will be the No. 2 starter? David Price, Rick Porcello, or someone else? Who is the pitcher we will trust there because he’s had a strong second half? I can’t really decide, which makes me worry a little about how things will go. – Matt B.
Well, in the first half, it’s been Drew Pomeranz, which I think we all saw coming, right? You don’t hear much about how Dave Dombrowski blew it by deciding not to reverse the trade with the shady Padres late last season. Anderson Espinoza hasn’t thrown a pitch this year due to forearm soreness. Pitchers are complicated, man.
Pomeranz is 9-4 with a 3.60 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 90 innings. He’s pretty fun to watch when he’s throwing strikes with that Bruce Hurst curveball of his. Durability has always been an issue, though, which is why I think you pencil him in as the No. 4 guy in the long run and be happy with that.
The No. 2 starter will be Price. Yes, he gets in these self-inflicted controversies – he seems like a good teammate who also likes to look like he’s a good teammate – and that perception sometimes interferes with appreciating his good performances. But fans should be noticing him now for the right reasons. He has a 3.25 ERA over his last six starts and is throwing the ball as well as he has since he got here. Be encouraged! This is encouraging!
Porcello? Ah, last year was the outlier of outliers. That was a 1980 Steve Stone season. He has a 4.75 ERA right now. If he can get it down below his 4.24 career ERA by October, that would mean he’s had a fine second half. But he’s pretty far from a No. 2 starter. And for most of his career, that has been his truth.
Still, it’s downright ridiculous that he has 18 fewer wins (4) and 7 more losses (11) than he had when he was 22-4 last season.
Could be that the Red Sox’ top three starters – maybe even top-four if Eduardo Rodriguez can stay on the mound – are all lefties? Imagine they’d throw Porcello in there to break it up in a playoff series, though.
What do you guys think? David Price is the clear-cut No. 2 right? Or is it someone else? I’ll see you in the comments.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com