BOSTON — July 1 was one of the worst days of the year for David Price. As the Boston lefty had yet another awful outing against the Yankees in The Bronx.
He allowed five homers and eight earned runs, both season-highs against the pitcher.
But both Price and Boston manager Alex Cora believe that nightmare was a turning point for Price, who will start Game 2 of the ALDS Saturday night against the Yankees at Fenway Park.
“He said that, ‘Hey, I need to make adjustments,’ ” Cora said of Price’s reaction following the outing. “The next start against Kansas City you [could] see that he was making them, but it didn’t work out. He hit a few guys … [and his] command wasn’t there. He started to pitch up in the zone. And then the next start kind of like everything changed.”
That second start after his meltdown was against the Blue Jays, and beginning with that outing, Price finished with a 2.42 ERA over his last dozen starts.
Price said he began moving his pitches around more in his ensuing starts.
“At that point in this season, I was really on one side of the plate … for a while,’’ Price said. “So to switch that back up, making pitches on both sides of the plate, that did a lot for me.”
The Red Sox hope that success continues into the postseason, but the stage and the opponent present additional challenges for Price, who has struggled throughout his career both in October and against the Yankees.
The left-hander pitched well twice out of the bullpen last postseason, tossing 6 ²/₃ shutout innings, but Saturday will be his first start in the playoffs since he was knocked around for five runs in 3 ¹/₃ innings in Game 2 of the 2016 ALDS against the Indians.
That ended a 10-game stretch in the postseason in which Price had a 5.90 ERA.
On Friday, he insisted he doesn’t care if he gets the win in Game 2.
“If I lose the entire playoffs and we win a World Series, I’ll take that,’’ Price said. “That’s what I’m here for. … I don’t want this to be about me and me not winning. I want to go out there [Saturday] and throw the ball well and help the Red Sox win. Whether we’re up 1-0 or down 1-0 or whatever it is, I want the Red Sox to win. That’s what I worry about.”
Cora said he is confident Price’s woes from earlier in the season are behind him.
“That’s a guy I trust,’’ Cora said. “We saw him pitching the second part of the season. He was probably the second-best lefty in the league after [Tampa Bay’s] Blake Snell. The way he went about his business, he pitched against the Yankees, he pitched against the Astros, he pitched against the Indians; he did a good job.”
The Yankees, though, have usually had his number. Most recently, they scored six runs off Price in 5 ¹/₃ innings on Sept. 19.
In four starts against the Yankees this season, Price has a 10.34 ERA, and his 4.90 lifetime ERA versus the Yankees is his worst against any team he has faced more than 15 times.
“I do feel that he’s ready for this one,’’ Cora said. “This guy, I mean, he’s been one of the best pitchers in the big leagues for a long, long time.”
