For Rick Porcello, there’s nothing quite like a sinking feeling

12:45 AM ET

BOSTON — Here’s the deal with Rick Porcello: More sinkers mean less stinkers.

Got that?

Porcello should say those words before every start for the Boston Red Sox. If it helps, he should repeat them between innings, even as he stands on the mound. Thirty-three starts into his Red Sox career, it’s clear Porcello is at his best when he’s throwing his signature sinker more than any other pitch in his repertoire.

Check it out: Through the first four months of last season, Porcello got away from his sinker, instead trying to lean on his four-seam fastball. He threw his sinker only 28 percent of the time to left-handed hitters and 41 percent of the time to righties, down from his career totals of 42 percent to lefties and 52 percent to righties, according to statistical data from Brooks Baseball. It was a horrible idea. He got pounded for a 5.81 ERA through 20 starts and was so bad the Red Sox placed him on the disabled list with a triceps strain and a fragile psyche.

Upon his return, Porcello increased his sinker usage to 44 percent against lefties, 58 percent against righties and posted a 3.14 ERA in eight starts. This season, he has thrown his sinker 49 percent of the time to lefties, 57 percent to righties. The results, well, have been as good as can be.

Porcello shut out the New York Yankees for seven innings of an 8-0 rout Saturday night at Fenway Park, stretching his scoreless streak to 13 1/3 innings. He’s one of three AL pitchers with a 5-0 record, joining Detroit Tigers right-hander Jordan Zimmermann and Chicago White Sox ace lefty Chris Sale, and has gone at least six innings in 13 consecutive starts, the longest active streak in the …

continue reading in source espn.go.com