Rick Porcello hurls eight innings of one-hit ball after demotion to Triple-A

Max Scherzer came back from his brief demotion to Triple-A pitching like a new man and fortunately for the Tigers it looks like Rick Porcello is following in his footsteps. Optioned to Triple-A over the weekend after following up his strong rookie season by going 4-7 with a 6.14 ERA in 13 starts this year, Porcello tossed eight innings of one-hit ball last night against the Reds’ affiliate. He was facing a lineup that included quality prospects Yonder Alonso, Todd Frazier, and Juan Francisco along with former big leaguers Chris Burke, Wladimir Balentien, and Ryan Hanigan, so the outing is fairly impressive. He managed just three strikeouts, but handed out only one walk and induced 15 ground-ball outs. Here’s what he said afterward:

I think it’s good for me to come down here and work on a couple of things and get some confidence. I had a pretty good sinker tonight and a good slider. It was a pretty effective mix of pitches. I’m just trying to work on my slider and try to shorten it up a bit and throw it consistently for strikes down in the zone. I felt comfortable with it tonight. That’s pretty much what they wanted me to come down here and work on. That and to keep my sinker down in the zone.

Scherzer’s demotion lasted all of two starts and he has a 3.48 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 31 innings since returning, so Porcello may not be long for Toledo.