Aug. 17 is a day David Price always will remember, and not for his performances on the field.
The Boston Red Sox left-hander revealed as much Wednesday before his start against the Baltimore Orioles. On that date in 2007, just two days after he signed his first major league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays, Price’s close friend, Nate Stephens, died from a heart attack at the age of 22.
Price has honored Stephens ever since by stitching that date — Aug. 17, 2007 — into his glove.
If Price took the mound with a heavy heart, though, he didn’t show it. The 30-year-old allowed just one run on four hits, pitching all six innings of Boston’s rain-shortened, 8-1 win in a “complete game” effort.
Price made one big mistake — a high changeup that Chris Davis hammered over everything at Camden Yards in the second inning — but walked no one and allowed just four baserunners outside Davis.
“(Price) was in control,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said, as seen on NESN’s “Extra Innings LIVE.” “With the exception of the changeup that stayed up to Davis, he was very good, very efficient (Wednesday).”
Price hasn’t had much to celebrate this season, but Wednesday’s win marked his second consecutive victory after the team had lost his previous five outings. It also helped him reach an important, if slightly dubious, milestone.
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Let’s hit a few more notes from Red Sox-Orioles:
— Mookie Betts still is Boston’s hottest hitter, but Jackie Bradley Jr. is giving his fellow outfielder a run for his money.
Bradley powered the Red Sox on Wednesday with a two-run homer and a two-run double to finish with four RBIs on the night. The 26-year-old now has three home runs in his last three games and has driven in eight runs during that span.
Bradley’s long ball also was his 20th of the season, as he joins Betts and David Ortiz as the three Red Sox players to reach the 20-homer plateau.
— Speaking of hot hitters, Sandy Leon shows no signs of slowing down. The Red Sox catcher hit a tape-measure blast in the fifth inning for his sixth homer of the year and is batting .383 after his 2-for-4 effort Wednesday.
— The Red Sox have a pretty brutal turnaround, as Thursday’s series opener against the Tigers in Detroit is set for 1:10 p.m. ET. It’s commonplace for starting pitchers to travel ahead of the team on road trips, but the weather also threw a wrench in Clay Buchholz’s plans.
— Eduardo Rodriguez’s early exit from Tuesday’s outing didn’t look good, but it appears the 23-year-old left-hander is no worse for wear.
Rodriguez, who had a no-hitter going when he left with hamstring tightness, did some running before Wednesday’s game and still is on track to stay in the rotation.
“He’s improved, he’s got more range of motion,” Farrell said of Rodriguez, via the Boston Herald. “There’s no strength deficits. So when we get over to Detroit (on Thursday), he’s likely to play some long toss and then get on the mound his third day as opposed to his second day. But still, at this point, we’re planning on him starting on Sunday.”
— The Orioles undoubtedly wanted to keep playing, but sheets of rain at Camden Yards pretty much ensured this game wouldn’t make it past the sixth inning.
— David Ortiz took advantage of Wednesday’s rain delay to catch his native Dominican Republic in action at the 2016 Olympics.
Thumbnail photo via Tommy Gilligan/USA TODAY Sports Images
