As the wins piled up last season -- 11 at the All-Star break, 20 by the second week of September, 22 in all -- Rick Porcello recognized he was pitching better than ever.
But he also must have felt like a luckier man than even Kate Upton's fiancé.
For one thing, the supercharged Boston Red Sox offense revved even hotter for Porcello, averaging 6.83 runs in his 33 starts compared to its overall majors-leading 5.42 runs per game average. For another, opponents batted .269 on balls in play against Porcello, well below the approximate league average of .