David Price's postseason woes continue with another ALDS loss
The “David Price can’t pitch in the postseason” narrative may actually have some legs. The Boston Red Sox ace turned in yet another poor October start during Boston’s 6-0 loss in Game 2 of the American League Division Series.
Early on, it looked at though the 31-year-old Price was going to buck his postseason trend. Price turned in a 1-2-3 first inning, inducing weak contact against all three Cleveland Indians he faced.
In the second, Price’s postseason demons reared their ugly heads. After getting a groundout from Mike Napoli to start the inning, Price allowed two straight singles to Carlos Santana and Jose Ramirez. Brandon Guyer would follow that up with a single of his own, scoring Santana from second.
With Price on the ropes, Lonnie Chisenhall delivered a crushing blow. Chisenhall smacked a three-run homer on a 94 mph fastball from Price. The hit put Cleveland up 4-0.
It was, amazingly, the first time all season Chisenhall hit a home run against a lefty.
That is Lonnie Chisenhall’s first HR off a left-handed pitcher this season. The Indians lead, 4-0.
— Tim Britton (@TimBritton) October 7, 2016
Price managed a quiet third inning, but fell into some trouble in the fourth. Guyer singled to open the frame. Price was able to Chisenhall to pop out this time around, but followed that up with a six-pitch walk to Roberto Perez. At that point, he was pulled from the contest.
All told, Price tossed just 3 1/3 innings. He allowed five runs on six hits. Price walked two and struck out three. It was the shortest postseason start of Price’s career.
That’s actually somewhat impressive considered Price’s struggles in October. Coming into the contest, Price had a 5.12 ERA in 63 1/3 postseason innings.
That number didn’t get any better after Friday’s start.
In 9 postseason starts, Price has a 5.74 ERA. If the Sox lose this game, he’ll be 0-8 in those games and his teams 0-9.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) October 7, 2016
But wait, it gets worse.
David Price has lost 8 straight postseason decisions as a starter, the longest streak in MLB history.
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) October 8, 2016
Through two ALDS games, Red Sox starters have put Boston in a huge hole early. Cy Young contender Rick Porcello allowed five runs over just 4 1/3 innings in Game 1, earning the loss.
The last thing the Red Sox needed Friday was postseason David Price to show up. Unfortunately for them, it looks like this narrative isn’t a work of fiction.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
