JesusQuintana said:It could also mean more to Porcello's confidence if he goes out in a "big spot in the standings" and pitches well - I mean, he's had a largely atrocious first half. If he throws a great start tonight and has the ability to reset his head during the break, it would help him, as well as the Sox, in the long term.
Yeah, I don't particularly trust Porcello going into a game thinking it's a "big spot". There's been a lot of talk earlier in the thread that he seems to be pitching differently this year than he did with Detroit -- almost like he's trying to justify his new contract by becoming a different kind of pitcher. If anything, he'd be better off going into this game thinking that the pressure is off, and that he can just go out there and throw like he always does.
What I'm most interested in tonight is whether he can build some kind of rapport with Hanigan on pitch selection, location, etc. since that seems to have gotten him into trouble the last few months.