Price could be needed bullpen boost
RED SOX NOTEBOOK
As soon as tonight, David Price could be available out of the Red Sox bullpen. That’s a role in which he has actually thrived in the postseason.
With a 2.25 ERA in eight playoff relief outings, Price could give the Sox bullpen a much-needed lift. He said after his rough start on Saturday that he’d be ready to go as soon as tonight for Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the Yankees. The series is tied 1-1.
Manager Alex Cora said yesterday that he wasn’t sure if Price would be available tonight or tomorrow. He threw just 42 pitches in his disastrous performance in Game 2 on Saturday.
“I’ve got to talk to him,” Cora said. “He’s not here (yesterday). We’ll talk. Obviously, we need outs. ... I know physically he’s fine and we know where we’re going. So most likely we’ll use him in some spot, yeah.”
Price might’ve been the Red Sox’ best pitcher in the 2017 playoffs, when he threw 62⁄3 scoreless innings over two relief outings against the Houston Astros. He never used his four-seamer, relying instead on two-seamers, cutters, curves and changeups.
He was sharp and powerful, averaging 95 mph on his two-seamer.
He averaged just 92.5 mph on his two-seamer on Saturday, when pitching coach Dana LeVangie said he thought Price might have been overthrowing to find some extra velocity.
In short stints, that could come easier.
But he’s allowed 11 homers to the Yankees this year in five outings, including the playoffs, and few could fault Cora if he was gun-shy about using Price with the short right-field porch in Yankee Stadium.
Cora remains firm in his belief that Price will be a factor for the Red Sox this postseason.
“He’s the first one to admit he’s disappointed,” Cora said. “One thing I love is the fact that he came out to the dugout. Regardless of the result, he was there for his teammates.
“I know we need him to win a World Series. He needs to pitch better, and he knows it . ... I know he’ll be better. I know he’s going to contribute. Whenever we call his name, he has to be ready for it and perform.”
Patience is key
The bottom of the Red Sox order has not been productive through two games. Eduardo Nunez is 0-for7, Sandy Leon is 0-for-5 and Jackie Bradley Jr. is 1-for-5.
Will Cora make any changes for Game 3?
“I knew that question was coming,” he said. “I’ll go to my experience from the World Series last year. That’s something I learned: Be patient. It’s such a small series that people get caught up on the whole small sample sizes. I always said that the difference between a .300 hitter in the postseason and a .200 hitter is 2-for-10 and 3-for-10 is one swing.
“So we go with the quality atbats. We know we have to swing the bat better. I think (Saturday) we were too aggressive outside the zone, and we don’t do that often, credit to (Masahiro) Tanaka. We’ll see. We’ll think about it (last night). We’ll talk as a staff, and we’ll go from there.”
Hoping for best
Mitch Moreland should be able to stay on the playoff roster, despite suffering some soreness in his hamstring and being removed early from Game 2. He received “aggressive treatment” yesterday and the Sox are hopeful he can play tonight. Both he and Steve Pearce are 1-for-3 in this series. …
Mookie Betts is just 1-for-7 so far this series and is 9-for-40 (.225) without any home runs in his postseason career. …
In the history of five-game series that begin 1-1 in the current home/ road format, the home team for Game 3 has gone on to take the series 21 out of 33 times (64 percent), according to MLB.com.