FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Last season was difficult for Rick Porcello, going 11-17 with a 4.65 ERA in 33 starts, but the first inning was egregiously so for the right-hander. In those 33 first innings, he posted a 6.55 ERA and a .311 opponents' average (better than only his seventh-inning mark of 10.12 and .396, respectively, in 17 games).
Porcello's first-inning struggles continued in Sunday's 7-3 loss to the split-squad Orioles at JetBlue Park. In his second Grapefruit League start, he went four innings, giving up four runs on seven hits with no walks, a hit batter and three strikeouts.