Good point. I'm not defending Cora, but when a team's two best pitchers have had a recent history of breaking down during the season, that may have been a factor. However, there was no sane reason to baby Porcello or E-rod.
I mentioned this on a post a while back. Imagine if Nolan Ryan was pitching during this pitch count era. How many game would he have lasted more than 5 innings?