BOSTON --
Here were some factors that stood out for Porcello in his sterling performance:\n\n**Sandy's presence** \nThe following numbers can't be viewed as simply coincidence: Porcello was 0-3 with a 11.12 ERA in his first three starts, when Leon was at Triple-A. In Porcello's last three, with Leon catching him, he is 2-0 with a 2.29 ERA.\n\nFor all the talk about Chris Sale's comfort with Leon, that might be an even bigger factor for Porcello.\n\n\"Yeah, it's a great flow,\" Boston pitching coach Dana LeVangie said of the Porcello/Leon battery. \"You guys see it. Game's moving. Defense is active. Gets him back in the dugout, gets the offense ready to roll.\"\n\n\"We were on the same page with one another, and we worked quick, which is good for our guys to get back in the dugout and get things going offensively and try and work as quick as possible,\" Porcello said. \"It definitely went well tonight, as far as tempo is concerned.\"
**Pitch mix** \nPorcello went to a heavy mix of two-seamers (39) and sliders (41), as those accounted for 70 percent of the pitches he threw on the night.\n\n\"The way his slider-cutter was working on both sides of the plate, in to the righties, backdoor to lefties, it just made his fastball so much better, his sinker and his four-seamer,\" LeVangie said. \"He pitched really aggressively tonight.\"\n\nThat left the A's off-balance and making soft contact.\n\n\"It's a credit to his delivery, how the ball is coming out,\" LeVangie said. \"Overall deception. How quick his arm is moving. Everything involved. It's great to see it. Even in missed locations. That's where you really judge how a pitcher's stuff is. You get bad swings, bad takes, his deception was really good tonight.\"\n\nOf the 114 pitches Porcello threw, Oakland mustered just five hard-hit balls ([exit velocity](http://m.mlb.com/glossary/statcast/exit-velocity) of 95 mph or greater). That ties Porcello's personal best for fewest hard-hit balls in a performance of 110 pitches or more since 2015.\n\n**Work ethic** \nPorcello is renowned for his work ethic, and that was once again a key as he climbed out of one of the worst skids of his career.\n\n\"It's not the first time I've been roughed up before, and it won't be the last,\" Porcello said. \"You have to be professional about it and have that inner confidence you're going to find your stuff. We've been working hard at it.\n\n\"There was one week I threw a bullpen \\[session\\] every day in between starts. We're doing whatever we can to get it on track, and it's starting to come around. I think everybody is throwing the ball a lot better, and it's time to go for us.\"
\n\nShutting ‘em down. pic.twitter.com/ugT5SmHxFJ
— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) May 1, 2019
**Rotation rebound** \nThough Sale is still searching for the best version of himself, the rotation as a whole is starting to click after a dreadful beginning to the season. Red Sox starters have a 3.14 ERA in 15 games since April 14. They've allowed 0.81 homers over nine innings in the past 21 starts, the lowest mark in the Majors in that span.\n\n\"I've got confidence in all of them,\" Cora said. \"It was just a bad start for everybody. People can point out \\[light workload in\\] Spring Training or whatever, I don't think that's the thing. Adjust over 162 games and see what happens. They struggled early, now they're finding their rhythm, and we'll see where it takes us.\"\n\nThough Boston (13-17) isn't going to throw any parties over a two-game winning streak, particularly when it is seven games back in the American League East, things are looking a little better of late.
**Mookie being Mookie** \nThe glass always looks fuller when