Show of hands: Entering Monday’s game, who had Rick Porcello as the Boston Red Sox’s most important offensive contributor?
Of course, such a belief would have been nonsense in the first place, but coupled with the fact that the Sox were facing Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer, such a notion would’ve bordered the line of lunacy.
But there it was, the Nats intentionally walked Jackie Bradley Jr. to load the bases and get to Porcello, and he responded by launching a ball to deep left field on an 0-2 count to empty the bases. Given the Red Sox ultimately won 4-3, it’s clear how important the double was to the eventual result of the game, in…