Red Sox's Rick Porcello: Pitches in intrasquad game

Porcello faced 15 batters over four innings in an intrasquad game Tuesday, Nick Friar of the New Bedford Standard-Times reports. He threw 47 pitches, gave up four hits and struck out three.

Analysis:

The most notable of those hits was a home run by recently signed slugger J.D. Martinez -- a former Porcello teammate in Detroit -- on a pitch left up in the zone. Other than that, Porcello was pleased that his sinker mostly stayed down and induced groundballs. The organization brought in former Red Sox pitcher Derek Lowe to help with Porcello's sinker, Friar reported for WEEI.com. The 2016 Cy Young Award winner is at his best when he's getting depth to the sinker, instead of the often flat ones he threw in 2017 when he lost 17 games.