Price flops yet again
BOSTON — David Price flopped again in the postseason. And against the Yankees.
Price lasted just 12⁄ in3 nings in Boston’s 6-2 loss on Saturday night, giving up three runs and three hits, including home runs to Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez that cleared the Green Monster.
He dropped to 0-9 in 10 postseason starts. Price’s postseason ERA rose to 5.38, including 6.03 as a starter, as New York evened the best-of-five series 1-1.
“Just another game. Don’t treat it any differently than any other game,” he said of his mindset on Thursday. “I just don’t have an answer for you guys. I’ve been asked that quite a while now. I can’t really put my finger on it.”
Price trudged off the field to a chorus of boos from the Red Sox fans who had cheered him when he took the mound just an inning prior.
It was the shortest of Price’s 10 postseason starts.
Of 70 pitchers with at least 10 career postseason starts, only Price doesn’t have a victory.
Sanchez’s home run made him 7 for 14 with six long balls against Price, who has allowed 11 homers in 171⁄ innings against the Yankees in five starts this year.
In the third season of a $217 million, seven-year contract, Price has never seemed completely comfortable in front of Fenway Park’s demanding fans. He has the right to void the remainder of his contract after the World Series and become a free agent again, forfeiting $127 million in guaranteed money.
When asked on Thursday if getting his first victory might endear him the Boston’s fans, Price insisted it wasn’t something he dwelled on.
“If I lose the entire playoffs and we win a World Series, I’ll take that. That’s what I’m here for,” Price said. “I don’t want this to be about me and me not winning.”
Whether he likes it or not, it will continue to be.