West coast hospitality (or lack thereof) apparently stoked David Price’s desire to bury the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Boston Red Sox pitcher wanted to pitch in Game 3 of the 2018 World Series on one day of rest due to his anger over shoddy room service he received in a Los Angeles-area hotel last Friday morning, according to Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci.
Price stormed into Alex Cora’s office Friday afternoon and told the Red Sox manager “I’m so mad, I need to pitch (today),” despite having thrown six innings two days prior in Boston’s Game 2 win.
Verducci explains what drove Price to that point:
The Red Sox were staying at a hotel in Pasadena. The club had flown the players’ families to Los Angeles. Price had his 17-month-old son, Xavier, with him. On the morning of Game 3, Price called to have breakfast sent up. Nothing came for 90 minutes, an eternity for anyone with a hungry toddler. It turned out that several other Red Sox families had similar horror stories about the hotel’s room service.
Cora started Rick Porcello in Game 3, but Price ended up pitching part of the ninth inning in the marathon contest the Dodgers ultimately won 3-2 nine innings later.
After receiving complaints from other Red Sox players and staff members, the hotel made amends to the team by providing a free buffet each morning of their stay. The Red Sox wouldn’t be in Los Angeles long, however, as they rebounded Saturday to win Game 4.
Price started Sunday in Game 5, in which he allowed one run on three hits over seven-plus innings with five strikeouts and two walks. His Game 5 gem represents apt revenge for the room-service indignation he, his son Xavier and the other members of the Red Sox family had to endure shortly after arriving in Los Angeles.
