 |
Step aside, Masahiro Tanaka. Detroit Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello also has emerged as an American League Cy Young Award candidate this season.
Porcello, who was an All-State selection and Star-Ledger Player of the Year at Seton Hall Prep, won his 11th game on Tuesday night in a complete-game shutout -- and made history:
In a 3-0 win over the Oakland A's, Porcello became only the fourth pitcher in franchise history to throw a shutout without walking or striking out a batter, and the first since Dizzy Trout in 1944.
According to MLB, Porcello recorded 17 groundball outs and 10 in the air while becoming the first major-leaguer to accomplish the shutout feat since Jeff Ballard of the Baltimore Orioles on Aug. 21, 1989 -- when Porcello was eight months old.
"In the last couple innings, I was hoping I'd get at least one strikeout," Porcello said via The Associated Press. "I didn't want to go out there and put up a zero. Still, with a game like this, I'm certainly not going to trade it in for anything."
Porcello (11-4) and Tanaka (11-3) lead major-league pitchers in victories this season. Five others have 10 wins. WIth Porcello leading them, the Tigers are sitting in first place in the Central Division, 4.5 games ahead of the Kansas City Royals.
"To be honest, it was pretty boring out there," said Torii Hunter, who didn't record an out in right field. "But that just shows you how great he was. He was throwing that sinker right down the middle, and it was dropping out of the strike zone, and they were just beating it into the ground."
Porcello, who will earn $8.5 million this season (compared to Tanaka's $22 million), is on a roll. He pitched his first career shutout in his previous start, beating the Texas Rangers on June 26. He also threw six shutout innings against the Cleveland Indians on June 20.
"I don't want to jinx it," he said when asked about his scoreless innings streak. "All I know is that I'm throwing the ball really well right now, I'm making consistent pitches when I need them, and my defense is helping me out. I'm also getting some good breaks, which every pitcher needs."
Porcello -- drafted by the Tigers out of Seton Hall Prep with the 27th overall pick of the 2007 draft -- is 71-54 in his career and has won at least 10 games in each of his six seasons in the majors.
"I think the biggest thing is making better pitches with runners on base," Porcello told the Detroit Free Press. "I've been able to work out of some trouble this year that maybe in prior years I haven't been so good at.
"I've been able to slow the game down a little bit better and recognize situations and understand when is the time to pound them with sinkers and when is the time to mix it up, especially with runners on base. In years past, I've fallen into the habit of throwing a lot of sinkers because that's my best pitch and maybe not necessarily setting it up and going about it in the right way."
The biggest key?
"Maybe maturity," Porcello said. "Maybe just going through those struggles so many times, and maybe I've started to learn from it a little bit."
