BALTIMORE -- The All-Star break presented Rick Porcello with the perfect chance to leave his first half behind him. Despite an 11-4 record, it ended with his worst outing of the season -- a two-plus-inning debacle, where the Blue Jays lit him up for eight runs -- and a 4.13 ERA two years removed from his American League Cy Young Award season.
Ten days later, Porcello turned in the kind of bounce-back start he and the Red Sox need as they chase down a third consecutive American League East title. On a rainy night in Baltimore, Porcello mustered six innings of scoreless baseball as the Red Sox beat the Orioles, 5-3, for their league-leading 71st win of the season.