Sox improve to 15-2 behind hot bats, Porcello

ANAHEIM -- Rick Porcello tossed six scoreless innings Wednesday and received a wealth of offensive support, including a grand slam from Rafael Devers, as the Red Sox rolled to a 9-0 win over the Angels at Angel Stadium.
It was the second consecutive scoreless start from Porcello, who hasn't allowed a run in his last 13 innings. The Red Sox improved to an MLB-best 15-2, the best start in the 118-year history of the franchise. 
They are the first team since the 2003 NL West champion Giants to start 15-2, and just the seventh team since integration (1947) to begin the season with 15 or more wins in their first 17 games. Of those other six, two went on to win the World Series (1955 Brooklyn Dodgers and 1984 Tigers).
Porcello (4-0) retired the last six batters he faced, after giving up six hits, and notched six strikeouts with no walks. The right-hander has not walked a batter over his last 22 2/3 innings.
"I feel good, and while I wasn't as sharp in the first inning as I would have liked to have been, I thought we were able to make adjustments," said Porcello, who got just four ground-ball outs and adjusted the game plan when his sinker was not working to his standard.
Porcello has given up just one earned run over his last 19 1/3 innings, going back to the second inning of his April 7 start against the Rays. He took a no-hitter into the seventh inning in his previous outing last Thursday against the Yankees.

Devers capped a five-run third inning with his first career grand slam, which hit off the right-field wall above the lowered boundary line. He homered for the second straight night and for the third time this season.
J.D. Martinez hit a home run in the seventh inning, his fourth of the season, and went 4-for-5 with three runs scored. Mitch Moreland went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs for the Red Sox, who are 15-1 since losing on Opening Day. It is their best 16-game stretch since 2004.

"I keep learning a lot from the team, and I keep saying all along that they show up, they prepare, they go play and they are having fun at it," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "One thing I said when I came here was that we are going to enjoy winning, because we know how tough it is to win at this level."
According to Elias, the Red Sox join the 2003 Giants as the only teams since 1900 to go 15-2 with a first-year manager. Cora is the only rookie manager to accomplish the feat.
Moreland opened the season on an 0-for-12 slide, but he has gone 11-for-19 since to help lead Boston's productive offense.
"Obviously, we've had a pretty good run at it here so far," Moreland said. "To get out there and into the action, it's a lot of fun. It seems like one through nine, everybody is stepping up. We're throwing the ball really well on the mound, and we're playing real complete games."

The Red Sox have hit eight home runs in their first two games against the American League West-leading Angels, who fell to 13-5 and took their first series loss. The Red Sox have outscored the Angels, 19-1.
"We're playing good baseball," Cora said. "They're grinding out at-bats all the way to the end. … They don't want to give away at-bats, which is great. Defensively, they're doing a great job, and the pitching staff has been amazing."
MOMENT THAT MATTERED
Avoiding early trouble: The Angels loaded the bases with one out in the first inning on three singles, but Porcello ended the threat by striking out Kole Calhoun and Zack Cozart. The Angels never got another runner to third base against the right-hander.

SOUND SMART
At 21 years, 176 days, Devers became the youngest Red Sox player to hit a grand slam since a 20-year-old Tony Conigliaro hit one on Aug. 24, 1965, against the Washington Senators. Devers became the youngest player to hit a slam in the Majors since a 20-year-old Rougned Odor on Aug. 27, 2014, at Seattle. Devers' four RBIs were a career high.
HE SAID IT
"We recognized early on I wasn't commanding the sinker as well as I would have liked to, and we were able to make an adjustment. Sometimes that's what you have to do. I definitely give [catcher] Sandy [Leon] a lot of credit. He recognized that, and put down the right fingers." -- Porcello, on moving away from his typically reliable sinking fastball
UP NEXT
Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will take the mound Thursday at Anaheim in the series finale at 10:07 p.m. ET. He gave up one run over six innings last time out against the Orioles last Friday. In his only previous start against the Angels, on July 20, 2015, he gave up seven runs over 1 2/3 innings. The Angels will start right-hander Nick Tropeano.