Yankees continue to have David Price's number in The Bronx
NEW YORK — David Price may be the most beloved Boston Red Sox to ever pitch in The Bronx.
And if he keeps this up, they should make an exception and give Price a plaque in Monument Park.
The Red Sox southpaw received a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 47,267 at Yankee Stadium as he left the mound on Sunday night — after getting absolutely hammered by the New York Yankees.
Price, who heard chants of “Who’s Your Daddy?” like Pedro Martinez once did after allowing a first-inning homer to Aaron Judge (who hadn’t gone yard since July 19, mind you), surrendered seven runs on nine hits in 2 2/3 innings, as the Red Sox were swept by the Yankees, losing 7-4.
The Red Sox (59-55) have now dropped eight in a row. They find themselves 6.5 games back of the second AL wild-card spot.
“We’re in a big hole,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said, while reiterating he didn’t think the team standing pat at the trade deadline has had any impact on its poor performance. “Overall, a horrible week.”
Price is 1-7 with a 9.61 ERA in eight starts at Yankee Stadium as a Red Sox (16 homers and 67 hits in 39 1/3 innings). According to baseball researcher Katie Sharp, that’s the highest ERA by any pitcher at any ballpark over that span (minimum six starts).
It seems like he’s been a fan favorite ever since he allowed Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit here — which just so happened to also be a homer.
“I’ve faced them a lot. I’ve just got to find something different,” Price said of his Bronx woes. “They’re just a good hitting team. They put the ball in play. They hit it hard. They make it tough for me.”
Price, who hadn’t been with the team for a few days due to the birth of his second child, said this about a Yankee team that didn’t have Gary Sanchez (injured), Giancarlo Stanton (injured), DJ LeMahieu (banged up though he entered late when Gleyber Torres got hurt), Edwin Encarnacion (injured), Luke Voit (injured) and Aaron Hicks (injured).
But their relentless offense — featuring several guys you may not have heard of — was able to knock Price out early.
Up 1-0 in the third, the Yankees had a runner on first with two outs before managing six straight bullet hits — starting with Gio Urshela’s 437-foot, two-run homer — to turn a one-run lead into a seven-run cushion.
“I just couldn’t make a pitch to get out of it,” said Price, who couldn’t seem to locate his changeup.
“It’s been tough — just for myself the rest of our pitchers, our starters — it’s been a tough stretch this year. We haven’t thrown the ball to our capabilities the last eight games or for the most part of the season. It’s been tough for us.”
FanGraphs gives the Red Sox just a 15.8 percent chance of making the playoffs, but Price isn’t ready to give up just yet.
“Everybody has to just do their part,” Price said. “That’s all we need. We don’t need anybody to be extra special. Just one through 25, everybody just pull your own weight and we’ll start winning baseball games again.”
That had better happen soon.
More from Yahoo Sports:
