Price’s start short, sweet
Left-hander spins five efficient innings
TORONTO — David Price threw only 67 pitches and five innings yesterday in his return from elbow tendinitis, but that was more than good enough to lead the Red Sox to a 12-2 victory against the Blue Jays.
Price allowed two runs, both unearned, while walking nobody and allowing three hits. One of them was a two-run home run by Luke Maile in the second that briefly tied the game at 2. Price then retired the final 10 batters he faced.
“Felt better as the game went along. Last couple of innings were more efficient than the first two or three, so it was good,” said Price, who was making his first start since May 2.
Added manager Alex Cora: “Obviously he hasn’t pitched in a while. Just take care of him, pitch count was low, effort was great, last two innings velocity-wise, location-wise, was fun to watch. He’ll be ready for his next one, but it was cool to have him back.”
Having Price stay on the short side of a start was part of the plan.
“Today, when you haven’t pitched in a while and have only pitched two bullpens in between, you’ve got to take care of this guy,” Cora said. “He should be fine for the next one.”
Price is 9-0 in his past 11 starts against Toronto. In his career, he is 22-3 against the Jays.
Velazquez rebounds
Hector Velazquez was the last of four relievers who held the Blue Jays hitless from the sixth inning on. He struck out the side in the ninth using 15 pitches, an encouraging bounce-back for the right-hander, who recorded only one out in a start Saturday against Houston. Velazquez still is in the mix to start Wednesday.
“We’ll see where it goes,” Cora said. “We had to stay away from other guys because they pitched on Saturday. He went out there and did a good job. It was efficient, he was sharp. It was good to see him bouncing back from Saturday.”
Moreland rakes
Mitch Moreland had his first three-hit game of the season. …
Rafael Devers had three RBI and has 11 in his past nine games. …
The Red Sox are 9-3 in their past 12. They are 12-12 on the road this year. Since 2017, they are 30-11 against the Blue Jays and 15-4 at Rogers Centre.
Martinez rests
As a warmup to a transAtlantic trip to London in late June, the Red Sox are in a particularly demanding stretch, four games into a run of 17 straight days of action. After a day off in Kansas City on June 3, they play 17 games in 16 days, including a doubleheader.
That’s the reason J.D. Martinez had the day off Monday.
“We know it’s going to be a tough stretch so start taking care of them, maybe (Devers) also in this series, Xander (Bogaerts) over the week, so we’ll take care of them, keep them fresh,” Cora said. “Today’s a tough day as far as getting going again and Friday, too, is another day with playing a day game today and a day game Thursday, so we’ll make sure we keep them fresh.”
No Vlad Jr.
Also getting a day off was rookie phenom Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who is starting to heat up 19 games into his big league career. He’s hit his first four home runs in his past six games after struggling early.
Cora offered perspective on expectations when it comes to young players with sky-high potential.
“This is more not the manager Alex Cora but just the baseball fan and all that: Sometimes it’s not fair,” Cora said. “That whole week (when Guerrero was first called up), I kept saying, ‘It’s great, I get it, the hype and all that, but let him be. He’s going to be OK.’ We put so much pressure on these kids, we put numbers, and expectations are huge.
“He’s going to be a great player, everybody knows that in the game, but the first few days I was watching and like, ‘Man that’s tough to do. You’re young and the whole world is saying you should do this.’ There’s a process at this level. Some of them they come up and they rake right away, and some of them it takes quite a while.
“It’s not easy, but you can see it, man, he’s a great athlete.”
Minor issues
Brock Holt and Dustin Pedroia will play shortstop and second base respectively for Pawtucket in Scranton beginning Tuesday. Brian Johnson will also pitch Tuesday. …
Nathan Eovaldi is scheduled to throw a bullpen Tuesday here. He’ll throw at least another before the team begins to plot out a rehab schedule for him.