The numbers don’t lie.
David Price and Rick Porcello, who are expected to start Games 2 and 3 for the Boston Red Sox in the American League Division Series, have not pitched well in the postseason.
Price owns a 5.03 ERA over 17 career playoff appearances, while Porcello sports an even worse 5.47 ERA in 11 postseason outings. Both pitchers got rocked by the Cleveland Indians in the 2016 ALDS.
But Price and Porcello would like to clear the air: Just because they’ve been ineffective in October doesn’t mean they’re “scared” of the spotlight.
“Hell no. Hell no,” Price said Tuesday, via NBC Sports Boston’s Evan Drellich. “No chance. Never have been. Never will be. If I’m ever scared to pitch in a baseball game, I’ll retire.”
Price hasn’t been shy about putting the pressure on himself to succeed in the playoffs. Porcello also is fine assuming such pressure — but apparently won’t bat an eye if he falls short again.
“Let me tell you something,” Porcello said, via Drellich. “If I go out there and I lose a postseason game, I don’t give a (expletive) what anybody says or thinks. I know I’m not weak.
“For anybody that feels the same way that I feel about myself, you prepare, you put yourself in a position to do whatever you can do and you go out there and you (expletive) hang your (expletive) on the line, between the lines, and sometimes it works in your favor and sometimes it doesn’t.”
Basically, Porcello has no time for haters.
“The weak (talk), and trying to figure out the mental capacity of players, that’s for spectators,” he added. “That’s for the fans and for you guys to decide. We know the guys in that clubhouse that have a (expletive) spine. And you as an individual know if you have it or not.”
These are quotes you want to hear out of your postseason starters. The bottom line, however, is that Price and Porcello need to walk the walk if they want to change the narrative.
