Red Sox keep Price in rotation for ALCS against Astros
Red Sox manager Alex Cora is sticking with David Price, saying Wednesday the left-hander will start Game 2 of the AL Championship Series against Houston despite an unprecedented history of playoff struggles.
Speaking on MLB Network radio a day after the Red Sox eliminated the Yankees from the AL Division Series, Cora said he plans to use Chris Sale in Game 1 of the best-of-7 series that begins at Fenway Park on Saturday night. The first-year manager said Price, the loser in the Red Sox’s only defeat in the ALDS, is still in line to start Game 2.
“We trust him,” Cora said last week after Price allowed three runs and got just five outs in a 6-2 loss in Game 2. “He bounced back before. We’ll talk to him and make a few adjustments and we’ll go from there.”
Nathan Eovaldi and 2016 AL Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello are expected to start Games 3 and 4, after picking up wins in the same roles against the Yankees. The current Red Sox staff entered the series with a 0-19 postseason record as starters, and now everyone but Price has picked up a win. Price has won two games in relief.
In all, Price is 0-9 as a starter in the postseason and his team has lost all 10 of his career playoff starts, the longest such skid in postseason history. The latest was a five-out cameo in Game 2 against the Yankees in which he gave up homers to Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez.
But Cora expressed confidence in Price afterward, claiming that Astros ace Justin Verlander and Red Sox Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez also struggled in the playoffs early in their careers. He also noted that Price pitched well out of the bullpen last year, making two appearances with 6 2/3 innings of scoreless relief against Houston. ASTROS’ CORREA HAS BACK PROBLEM >> Carlos Correa is in pain.
Every swing and miss hurts, and on the bad days it can even be uncomfortable for the Houston Astros star shortstop to walk.
Correa often puts on a brave face but told The Associated Press how much this is affecting him as the Astros prepare to leave for Boston.
“You’re a competitor so every time you step on the field you play it off like everything is fine,” he said. “But obviously you’re hurting.”
Correa returned from a six-week stint on the disabled list on Aug. 10 and declared that he was better. But he has struggled to regain his top form. He hit just .180 in the second half of the season and managed a single hit — a home run — in an ALDS, looking nothing like the player who made the All-Star team last season and was the 2015 rookie of the year.
He said it bothers him most at the plate, and it’s been impossible to get back to how he felt before the injury.
NOTES >> A grand jury in New Jersey indicted former baseball star Lenny Dykstra on drug and other charges stemming from an altercation with an Uber driver in May. The indictment charges the former All-Star with cocaine and methamphetamine possession, and making terroristic threats. All three are third-degree crimes and punishable by up to five years in prison . ... Righthanded reliever Kyle Barraclough was acquired by Washington from Miami. Washington sent the Marlins $1 million in international slot allotment.