In Praise Of David Price's 'Grit' Sunday Night Against The Yankees: 'He's Not A Mental Case'
BOSTON (CBS) -- Red Sox manager John Farrell doesn't visit the pitcher's mound just to make visits. If you're on the mound and Farrell is heading out there, he's most likely taking the ball from you. That wasn't the case Sunday night with David Price against the New York Yankees.
With two outs in the top of the seventh inning of a 6-6 tie and Alex Rodriguez coming to the plate, Farrell visited Price on the mound - not to remove the Red Sox ace from the game, but to give him a vote of confidence to get the final out against Rodriguez, who had driven in four runs with a homer and double in his previous at-bats. Price got Rodriguez to ground out to end the inning, which Christian Vazquez followed up with his game-winning home run in the bottom half of the frame.
Marc Bertrand and Scott Zolak talked about Farrell's mound visit to Price and what the Red Sox starter showed about himself, despite doing it in a May game against a weak Yankees lineup.
"I learned something about David Price in this regard: he's not a puddle. He's not a mental case," said Bertrand. "He bounced back last night. He actually had the grit to hang in there and tough it out and give his team the innings, even though he wasn't very good. I thought that showed something."
Price told reporters after the game that Farrell essentially asked him if he was going to get the job done.
"He asked me if I was going to make really good pitches in that situation, and I told him, 'Absolutely'," Price said.
Farrell echoed Bertrand's assessment that Price showed what he can really do when facing tough situations like Sunday night.
"He's a big-time performer, despite some of tonight's outcomes," said Farrell. "[We gave him] an opportunity to complete one more inning and hopefully give us a chance to win, and like I said, it worked out."
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