Following his latest discouraging outing, is it time for the Boston Red Sox to be worried about their ace, David Price?
The struggles for David Price continued on Saturday, this time resulting in his first loss of the season at the hands of the New York Yankees. His latest letdown snapped a personal six-game winning streak at Yankee Stadium and ensured the Boston Red Sox would lose their first road series of the season.
We all wanted to chalk up his first couple of ugly outings as a fluke. It’s still early, we’d tell ourselves. Price has a history of getting off to a slow start, just wait until we get through April. Well, we’re through the opening month of the season and May isn’t looking any better. Price has surrendered six runs in each of his two starts this month, marking the first time in his career he’s given up that many runs in consecutive starts. Through seven starts this season he’s given up at least five runs on four occasions.
Price’s ERA has ballooned to cringe-worthy 6.75, putting him at the bottom of the American League among qualified pitchers. Opponents continue to string together hits against him, inflating his batting average against (.278) and WHIP (1.38) to career-worst levels. By his own admission, Price has been the weakest link on this Red Sox team battling for first place in spite of his woes.
Is this what $217 million buys you these days?
"“My first seven starts… this has sucked,” a frustrated Price told reporters on Saturday, per CSNNE’s Sean McAdam. “It’s not fun for me. I don’t enjoy it. I’ve got [to] get better.”"
So what does Price need to do in order to get better?
Next: Fixing his delivery