A new Price age
Lefty starts to warm up
David Price flashed signs of greatness last night.
For the Red Sox, this is the news they’ve been waiting for since Opening Day.
In a performance that offered a glimpse of Price at the peak of his powers, the left-hander displayed an intimidating array of pitches, particularly his cut fastball and changeup, as well as the best hop in his fastball yet — 97 mph — in a seven-inning stint against the Twins.
It was his seventh start this season, and came off a sixth start that also offered a few peeks that Price is rounding into form.
For a team with an inconsistent offense that is going to lean hard on its rotation the rest of the way, the potential arrival of Price The Ace is a trend that very much favors winning.
“The last two have been the best so far,” said manager John Farrell after the Red Sox’ 6-3 win at Fenway. “I think it’s pretty natural that you get six, seven starts under your belt, arm strength continues to improve. And not just measured in velocity, but it’s measured in consistency. And the last two games have been really strong on his part. And I felt he had real good touch for the changeup. He threw a number of really good cutters, an occasional curveball, so he had a full assortment working tonight.”
There was one instance when Price’s rise to the occasion was most critical.
It happened after his forgettable fourth inning, when he failed to cover first base on a ground ball that put a second runner on for Jorge Polanco to knock in with a Wall-ball double for a 3-0 Twins lead.
He also survived the fifth inning fine, despite his own throwing error that extended the inning for one more batter.
For Price the moment of truth occurred in the top of the sixth, after the Red Sox had mustered three runs in the bottom of the fifth to grab a lead for the first time all game. It was a one-run lead, 4-3, and Price was at 90 pitches.
At this point, everything was different: The Sox had the lead.
Those with even a cursory knowledge of quantum physics understand the power of momentum for a pitcher who comes in to protect a fresh lead. The value is sky-high, and the heart of the Minnesota batting order was coming to the plate.
The start was inauspicious, because Joe Mauer hit a leadoff single. Then came Miguel Sano, the single-most dangerous hitter in Minnesota’s lineup, a right-handed hitter with as much power as anyone else in the league. Four pitches later, Sano was walking back to the dugout.
He had swung and missed at three cut fastballs.
The rest of the order seemed like easy pickings from that point for Price as Eduardo Escobar fouled out and Polanco watched a 96 mph heater sail in for a called third strike.
“Really good pitchers are going to seize the opportunity, seize the moment,” said Farrell. “We were able to dig back, give him the lead and like I said, to put up a zero after that inning, in which we took the lead, that’s to me a great sign of a great pitcher. He almost stepped it up a notch where he could begin to smell it a little bit more. His conviction to all pitches those final two innings was outstanding.”
After his last start, Price said he was bothered by a physical issue, which we later discovered was a cracked nail of his middle finger. There were no issues last night. “The fingernail was in good shape tonight, that didn’t affect him at all,” said Farrell. “This is the fourth game of the series, he’s got a chance to watch them for three consecutive nights. I’m sure he’s gaining some information all along the way. That’s an aggressive, young, good fastball-hitting team. A number of two-seamers, a number of changeups. He had a clear-cut plan of what he wanted to do tonight.”
Price’s conviction was noticeable on the mound.
“I felt good the entire time, just, yeah, that 2-2 changeup to Polanco (in the fourth) could have cost us the game but the offense bounced back and put up some runs,” said Price.
As for his overall performance, Price focused on his 4.61 ERA as a barometer for where he’s at. Clearly, he found his start and overall performance lacking.
“Not really — I mean I’ve got a four, four and a half, four or over that (ERA)?” said Price. “That’s no good.”
For him, it’s not. But he’s pitching much, much better, so Price’s ERA most likely is going to shrink.
As far as September and maybe October are concerned, that trend bodes well for Price and the team.