There don’t appear to be any cutesy, glib comments from David Price after he was shelled by the Yankees on Sunday. No mocking, passive-aggressive jabs at the media after he allowed a career-high five home runs in yet another abbreviated outing.
Sunday’s was a big test for Price and the results were failure, plain and simple: nine hits, including the five dingers, with three strikeouts over a little more than three innings of work. No Sox pitcher this season has allowed as many home runs within the first three innings of a game as David Price (9).
By the time Manager Alex Cora finally brought out the hook, the Red Sox were already down 0-8. When the dust settled, the 11-1 loss was Boston’s largest margin of defeat against New York since a 13-3 loss on August 4, 2015, also at Yankee Stadium.
When it comes to Yankees, Price is wrong
Price is now 2-6 with an 8.43 ERA in nine starts against the Yankees since signing a $217 million contract with Boston before the 2016 season. He’s 0-5 with a 10.44 ERA in his last five starts in the Bronx. He has allowed 10 home runs in his last three starts at Yankee Stadium.
Clearly his Achilles Heel, the Yankees are now responsible for nine of Price’s 19 career games with at least six earned run allowed as well as for three of his five career-high outings with eight earned runs.
Long, Close Games? Not This Time
This was not the weekend series most fans expected. Surely, the top two teams in baseball, already 3-3 against each other in 2018, would be deadlocked in close games defined by razor-thin margins, right? Instead, all three games were blowouts that showcased each club’s pitching strengths and weaknesses.
In Friday’s opener, played in just 2 hours and 41 minutes, the Sox were stymied by CC Sabathia for an 8-1 loss. On Saturday, Chris Sale returned the favor with an absolutely dominant outing that resulted in an 11-0 shutout win for the Sox. It was the longest game of the three, clocking in at just over three and a quarter hours.
But Sunday’s win for New York did more than just spotlight Luis Severino‘s remarkable strengths (he’s now 13-2 with a 1.98 ERA this season), it made clear just how terrible Price’s outing was. The Sox were simply never in the game, never had a chance to mount a comeback.
Entering Sunday’s action, Price had allowed three or fewer earned runs in his last nine starts. He mocked the press after his last game, joking when asked about the upcoming trip to New York that he might not be able to make it.
But on Monday morning Red Sox Nation faces the unavoidable reality that in two starts against his club’s closest competitor this season, David Price is 0-2 with a 24.92 ERA.
A few other notes about this series:
- Last night, the Yankees’ Aaron Hicks became the 21st major leaguer since 1908 with a club-high three home runs against Boston (two off Price and one coming against Red Sox reliever Hector Velázquez). It was a career-high for Hicks who never before had more than two home runs in a game.
- Among the 21 players with 3 home runs in a game vs Boston is new Sox minor leaguer Adam Lind (2009). Three players have done it twice to the Red Sox: Frank Thomas (1996 and 2007), Joe Carter (1986 and 1987), and Pinky Higgins (1935 and 1940).
- Price is now the sixth Boston starter since 1960 with multiple outings of 3.1 or fewer IP against the Yankees in the same season. The most recent was was Clay Buchholz in 2015. It happened to Derek Lowe twice in two different seasons (1998 and 2004).
- Price set the club record on Sunday for most home runs allowed over 3.1 or fewer IP. Previous high was 4 HR, most recently by Steven Wright last April 12 (4 HR over 1.1 IP). The club record for most HR allowed by a starter since 1908 is 6 by Tim Wakefield on August 8, 2004 facing the Tigers.
- Yankees rookie Kyle Higashioka, in search of his first major league hit last night, was one of the batter who took Price deep. Higashioka is the first Yankee to homer against the Red Sox for his first major league hit since Andy Phillips on September 26, 2004 at Fenway.
- The Red Sox are now 6-14 for their last 20 games at Yankee Stadium and have lost straight series there.