Finally, pitching starter David Price won a game against his former team in Tampa, on the wings of a flying Andrew Benintendi. Can Price keep it going?
Price has had negativity thrown his way ever since he faltered down the Toronto Blue Jays’ playoff run, last season. The 30-year-old, 217-million-dollar arm went 1-2 and allowed 16 runs in his 23.1 innings. The haters have jumped on board, when Price made his way to Boston for that huge contract that he signed in the offseason. The lefty went into the matchup against his former team, the Tampa Bay Rays having posted a record of 11-8 with a 4.19 ERA for the 2016 season. Not exactly what the Red Sox were expecting when they signed him.
Price’s record against his first team was even more unexpected, at this point. Price 2-3 with a 5.11 ERA in six starts against the Rays. He’s allowed 21 earned runs, including six home runs, in only 37 innings of work.
Last night, with the score 3-0 Red Sox, it appeared that Price was going to allow homer number seven and leave the door open for the Rays to make a comeback in the eighth inning. That door was slammed shut, as Benintendi’s body slammed into the left-field fence:
Andrew Benintendi with a legitimate bid for catch of the year. #LloveTheGamehttps://t.co/MuiFRzhQRo
— MLB (@MLB) August 23, 2016
Benintendi wasn’t even supposed to be in left field to make the catch off of Steven Souza Jr., who couldn’t believe that the youngster robbed him. Chris Young, back from injury, made the start in left field. Benintendi started in center field, with the usual starter Jackie Bradley Jr. taking the night off. However, in the top of the eighth, Bradley was put into the game to pinch run for Young, who hadn’t played with the Red Sox since June 24th with a strained right hamstring.
The move for the pinch runner was likely just a precautionary one, as Red Sox manager John Farrell has the luxury of four starting outfielders with speed. Sam Blum of MLB.com reported Farrell stating, “Had not gone through the rehab in the fashion he did, he might not be here right now […] But the last two games going nine innings each game, through it physically fine. He contributed, obviously. A good night. A good return for Chris.”
Despite Young’s performance, he couldn’t help but be overshadowed by Benintendi’s catch.
The same goes for Price’s start. The lefty went eight innings, allowing only two hits and two walks while striking out eight Rays. Matt Barnes almost gave the game up for Price in the ninth inning, allowing two runs on three hits, but he was able to get the three outs he needed.
It wasn’t like Price was cruising on easy street, as he was hit for nine flyouts and only two groundouts. The Rays were hitting him hard; they were just not hitting the balls in the gaps of the Red Sox defense that much. Souza likely thought that he did, until he saw Benintendi show why his bat is not the only thing that makes the Fenway faithful drool.
With the win, Price moves to 12-8 with a 4.00 ERA in 27 starts. He’s won his last three games in a row, allowing only four runs combined. He’s reached the sixth inning each time, and made it past the eighth twice. His 20 strikeouts to three walks is a great sign that the Price whom the Red Sox paid for is getting into a groove. Yet, Price should be thanking Benintendi for not letting that groove skew off the path. There’s still a lot of baseball left in this regular season, and Benintendi can’t catch them all over the fence for Price.