ERA isn’t the only important stat either
Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
A 5.12 ERA isn’t exactly encouraging. Even Rick Porcello‘s disastrous first season in Boston concluded with an ERA south of 5.00, even if it did float above that mark for most of the year. As discouraging as Price’s postseason ERA appears, we must remember it comes in a much smaller sample size.
Price has thrown 63.1 innings in the postseason, which is a small enough sample where one bad outing can skew his statistics. Price had one such outing in the 2013 ALDS, when the Red Sox roughed him up for 7 runs. Take that one horrendous start out of the equation and Price has compiled a 4.06 ERA in his other postseason starts. Still not great, but certainly not awful.
Despite the inflated ERA, Price hasn’t necessarily pitched terribly in the postseason. His 8.4 K/9 rate in the playoffs is only a tick below his regular season average, while his 4.82 K/BB ratio is quite a bit better than the already impressive mark he has produced in the regular season. Price has always been stingy when it comes to allowing walks, but he’s even better at avoiding free passes in the playoffs. This suggests that his high ERA is at least in part due to factors outside of his control.
Next: The Lester Factor