It has been a promising afternoon for Detroit Tigers righthander Rick Porcello through five innings, as the 23-year-old youngster has held the Chicago White Sox scoreless on just three hits.
Porcello has only needed a miniscule 51 pitches to get through five innings, a clear sign that he's not wasting quite as many of his throws as in past years. Porcello tossed 92 in his 2012 debut against Tampa Bay over seven innings last week, and appears close to turning a corner as a budding top of the rotation starting pitcher.
A solo home run from backup catcher Gerald Laird gave Detroit a 1-0 lead in the third, while Jhonny Peralta scored on a wild Chris Sale pitch to expand the lead to 2-0 in the top half of the fifth. Porcello, however, has been the main story, and has stifled Chicago batters at the plate. Porcello has struck out two and not issued a single free pass, and looks poised to pitch deep into Sunday's game.
For more on the Tigers, head over to Bless You Boys. For more MLB coverage, check out Baseball Nation.