Price perplexed by shaky outing vs. Rays

BOSTON — Sometimes the days you feel the best are the ones you have to watch out for. David Price suffered that fate for the Red Sox on Thursday afternoon in a disappointing conclusion to his first homestand with his new team.

Staked to a four-run lead after one inning, Price was stunningly knocked out by the Rays with the fourth inning still in progress. Though Price took a no-decision, the Red Sox suffered a 12-8 loss.

It was a perplexing day for the power lefty, who is 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA in four starts against the team he broke into the Major Leagues with.

“That’s the best I’ve felt in my four starts here,” said Price. “To me, that’s the most disappointing thing. To feel as good as I felt, I want to be able to go out there and get the results that I expect. I just didn’t do that today.”

In the home opener, Price squandered a 3-0 lead, but this one was even tougher for him to stomach. Over 3 2/3 innings, he gave up eight hits and eight runs while walking two and striking out five.

Through four starts, Price is 2-0 with a 7.06 ERA. Where does he go from there?

“Get better,” Price said. “I don’t enjoy that. I definitely enjoy going out there and doing what I love, and that’s not fun for me. I know I’m better than that. Whenever you get five runs in the bottom half of the first inning, that’s unacceptable.”

To Price, there is no common thread to his struggles against the Rays.

“That’s the fourth time I’ve …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com