http://www.theledger.com/article/20...1117/sports?Title=Price-Expects-Strong-Outing-
Price Expects Strong Outing
By DICK SCANLON
Published: Monday, October 3, 2011 at 12:25 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, October 3, 2011 at 12:25 a.m.
ST. PETERSBURG | Of all the bizarre and unlikely ingredients that went into the Rays' September charge to wild card away from the Boston Red Sox, perhaps the most unlikely is this — they did it without David Price winning a game.
Price, who will start Game 3 of the ALDS tonight against the Texas Rangers, has not won since Aug. 28. He is 0-2 in seven starts since then, and he lasted just four innings in his final start last Wednesday night, leaving on the short end of a 6-0 score against the New York Yankees.
"September was a winless month for me, and that's unacceptable," Price said.
He probably deserved a better record than 12-13. The Rays scored two runs or less in 15 of his 34 starts, and in his 13 losses the Rays backed him with a total of 18 runs.
But even considering all of that, the 26-year-old left-hander has simply not been as a good a pitcher as he was in 2010, when he won 19 games, started the All-Star Game and finished second in the voting for the Cy Young Award.
For reasons nobody seems to be able to pin down, Price has gone from being the second-best pitcher in the league to the third-best pitcher on his team.
He has logged a career-high 224 innings, but he insists he is not tired — or at least not tired out.
"Everybody is tired in September. Everybody I know is tired now, but some people are more fatigued than others," he said. "Our pitchers have done a good job all year of keeping with our workouts and making sure that our legs are still under us."
Price is convinced, in fact, that the Rays' staff is relatively fresh, and by design.
"It goes back to the six-man rotation we were on for a month and a half," he said. "Everything ties into the big picture. We all feel pretty good right now and everything we've done to prepare for this is a little piece of that pie."
Although it has been a while since he saw the David Price he expects to see, manager Joe Maddon expects to see that David Price tonight.
"I always believe David will rise to the occasion," Maddon said. "I know he has had a couple of tough starts, but this guy's truly got one of the best make-ups I have ever been around for a young player. Like I mentioned the other day, I'd just like to see him game plan a little bit differently going into in this one.
But stuff-wise, make-up-wise, I always love the fact that David Price is pitching for us."
The Rangers are the only American League team Price has yet to beat, and they beat him twice in the ALDS a year ago.
None of which bothers Price. As far as he's concerned, he is a prohibitive favorite tonight.
"There hasn't been any crisis of confidence going on. I feel good," he said. "My body feels good, my arm feels good. I've had a good week of playing catch. I had a very good bullpen three days ago, so I'm looking forward to throwing like me out there tomorrow.
"I expect to go nine innings and give up zero runs, and that's my mind-set right now."
Price Expects Strong Outing
By DICK SCANLON
Published: Monday, October 3, 2011 at 12:25 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, October 3, 2011 at 12:25 a.m.
ST. PETERSBURG | Of all the bizarre and unlikely ingredients that went into the Rays' September charge to wild card away from the Boston Red Sox, perhaps the most unlikely is this — they did it without David Price winning a game.
Price, who will start Game 3 of the ALDS tonight against the Texas Rangers, has not won since Aug. 28. He is 0-2 in seven starts since then, and he lasted just four innings in his final start last Wednesday night, leaving on the short end of a 6-0 score against the New York Yankees.
"September was a winless month for me, and that's unacceptable," Price said.
He probably deserved a better record than 12-13. The Rays scored two runs or less in 15 of his 34 starts, and in his 13 losses the Rays backed him with a total of 18 runs.
But even considering all of that, the 26-year-old left-hander has simply not been as a good a pitcher as he was in 2010, when he won 19 games, started the All-Star Game and finished second in the voting for the Cy Young Award.
For reasons nobody seems to be able to pin down, Price has gone from being the second-best pitcher in the league to the third-best pitcher on his team.
He has logged a career-high 224 innings, but he insists he is not tired — or at least not tired out.
"Everybody is tired in September. Everybody I know is tired now, but some people are more fatigued than others," he said. "Our pitchers have done a good job all year of keeping with our workouts and making sure that our legs are still under us."
Price is convinced, in fact, that the Rays' staff is relatively fresh, and by design.
"It goes back to the six-man rotation we were on for a month and a half," he said. "Everything ties into the big picture. We all feel pretty good right now and everything we've done to prepare for this is a little piece of that pie."
Although it has been a while since he saw the David Price he expects to see, manager Joe Maddon expects to see that David Price tonight.
"I always believe David will rise to the occasion," Maddon said. "I know he has had a couple of tough starts, but this guy's truly got one of the best make-ups I have ever been around for a young player. Like I mentioned the other day, I'd just like to see him game plan a little bit differently going into in this one.
But stuff-wise, make-up-wise, I always love the fact that David Price is pitching for us."
The Rangers are the only American League team Price has yet to beat, and they beat him twice in the ALDS a year ago.
None of which bothers Price. As far as he's concerned, he is a prohibitive favorite tonight.
"There hasn't been any crisis of confidence going on. I feel good," he said. "My body feels good, my arm feels good. I've had a good week of playing catch. I had a very good bullpen three days ago, so I'm looking forward to throwing like me out there tomorrow.
"I expect to go nine innings and give up zero runs, and that's my mind-set right now."
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Price looks to be majors' first 17-game winner
David Price is putting together a Cy Young-caliber season for the Tampa Bay Rays, but all he is concerned with is the team's win column.
Price looks to become the majors first 17-game winner Tuesday night when the Rays continue their series against the Kansas City Royals.
Price (16-4, 2.39 ERA) is tied for the major league lead in wins and his ERA tops the AL.
The left-hander is 8-0 with a 1.72 ERA over his last 11 starts. He allowed three hits and struck out eight in seven innings of a 7-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday.
"I'm not worrying about any individual numbers or anything like that," Price said. "I'm just trying to help us every five days get to the postseason, and we'll take it from there."
Price, who has a 1.82 ERA at home, will face Kansas City for the first time since a relief appearance in 2010. He's also made two starts against the Royals, allowing three runs and nine hits over 13 innings.
He'll be looking to help the Rays (68-54) win their sixth straight. After a weekend sweep of the Angels over the weekend, they won Monday's series opener 5-1.
Jeremy Hellickson pitched seven strong innings, Jeff Keppinger homered and Desmond Jennings had a double, a triple and an RBI.
"It all started with the pitching," manager Joe Maddon said. "I think (Hellickson) set the tone. He was sharp."
The Rays have won 12 of 14 with strong offense as well as pitching, averaging 6.1 runs while posting a 2.29 ERA during that stretch, which has coincided with Evan Longoria's Aug. 7 return from the disabled list. The surge has pulled them within four games of the AL East-leading Yankees - the closest they've been since late June.
Tampa Bay continues to get healthier, as designated hitter Luke Scott (strained right oblique) expected to rejoin the team Tuesday. Scott, who was placed on the disabled list July 21, was hitting .225 with 12 homers and 45 RBIs before the injury.
While the Rays continue to roll, Kansas City (54-67) failed to capitalize on the momentum from a weekend sweep of Chicago. The Royals scored 18 runs and hit .340 in that three-game series, but managed seven hits Monday while grounding into two double plays.
"We're playing well, but it's a tough place to play and they're playing very, very well," manager Ned Yost said. "Their starting pitching's outstanding."
Alcides Escobar had an eight-game hitting streak snapped as he went 0 for 4 including a double-play grounder in the series opener. He had gone 7 for 9 with three doubles, a homer and five runs scored in a sweep of the Rays in June.
Royals starter Luke Hochevar (7-11, 5.24), who will try to avoid a third straight loss.
Hochevar bounced back in his last outing after giving up seven runs at Baltimore on Aug. 10, but didn't get any run support. He allowed three runs and four hits - two homers - in seven innings of a 3-0 loss to Oakland on Thursday.
The right-hander is 2-2 with a 5.72 ERA against Tampa Bay, but pitched a seven-hitter in an 8-0 victory over the Rays on June 25, his lone complete game of the season and his second career shutout.
Price looks to be majors' first 17-game winner
David Price is putting together a Cy Young-caliber season for the Tampa Bay Rays, but all he is concerned with is the team's win column.
Price looks to become the majors first 17-game winner Tuesday night when the Rays continue their series against the Kansas City Royals.
Price (16-4, 2.39 ERA) is tied for the major league lead in wins and his ERA tops the AL.
The left-hander is 8-0 with a 1.72 ERA over his last 11 starts. He allowed three hits and struck out eight in seven innings of a 7-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday.
"I'm not worrying about any individual numbers or anything like that," Price said. "I'm just trying to help us every five days get to the postseason, and we'll take it from there."
Price, who has a 1.82 ERA at home, will face Kansas City for the first time since a relief appearance in 2010. He's also made two starts against the Royals, allowing three runs and nine hits over 13 innings.
He'll be looking to help the Rays (68-54) win their sixth straight. After a weekend sweep of the Angels over the weekend, they won Monday's series opener 5-1.
Jeremy Hellickson pitched seven strong innings, Jeff Keppinger homered and Desmond Jennings had a double, a triple and an RBI.
"It all started with the pitching," manager Joe Maddon said. "I think (Hellickson) set the tone. He was sharp."
The Rays have won 12 of 14 with strong offense as well as pitching, averaging 6.1 runs while posting a 2.29 ERA during that stretch, which has coincided with Evan Longoria's Aug. 7 return from the disabled list. The surge has pulled them within four games of the AL East-leading Yankees - the closest they've been since late June.
Tampa Bay continues to get healthier, as designated hitter Luke Scott (strained right oblique) expected to rejoin the team Tuesday. Scott, who was placed on the disabled list July 21, was hitting .225 with 12 homers and 45 RBIs before the injury.
While the Rays continue to roll, Kansas City (54-67) failed to capitalize on the momentum from a weekend sweep of Chicago. The Royals scored 18 runs and hit .340 in that three-game series, but managed seven hits Monday while grounding into two double plays.
"We're playing well, but it's a tough place to play and they're playing very, very well," manager Ned Yost said. "Their starting pitching's outstanding."
Alcides Escobar had an eight-game hitting streak snapped as he went 0 for 4 including a double-play grounder in the series opener. He had gone 7 for 9 with three doubles, a homer and five runs scored in a sweep of the Rays in June.
Royals starter Luke Hochevar (7-11, 5.24), who will try to avoid a third straight loss.
Hochevar bounced back in his last outing after giving up seven runs at Baltimore on Aug. 10, but didn't get any run support. He allowed three runs and four hits - two homers - in seven innings of a 3-0 loss to Oakland on Thursday.
The right-hander is 2-2 with a 5.72 ERA against Tampa Bay, but pitched a seven-hitter in an 8-0 victory over the Rays on June 25, his lone complete game of the season and his second career shutout.
HAPPY 30TH DAVID
<aside class="content">[h=2]David Price[/h][h=3]David Price[/h]Baseball Player<aside>#7579Most Popular</aside>
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</aside><aside class="card"> <label class="label text-muted">BIRTHPLACE</label>Tennessee
</aside><aside class="card"> <label class="label text-muted">AGE</label>29 years old
</aside><aside class="card hidden-phone"> <label class="label text-muted">BIRTH SIGN</label>Virgo
</aside></section>
</aside><section class="know-card"><aside class="card"> <label class="label text-muted">BIRTHDAY</label><time itemprop="birthDate" datetime="1985-08-26">August 26, 1985</time> (age 29)
</aside><aside class="card"> <label class="label text-muted">BIRTHPLACE</label>Tennessee
</aside><aside class="card"> <label class="label text-muted">AGE</label>29 years old
</aside><aside class="card hidden-phone"> <label class="label text-muted">BIRTH SIGN</label>Virgo
</aside></section>
