Thursday night was different for David Price, and perhaps that all started the night before.
The Boston Red Sox left-hander picked up his first career postseason win as a starter Thursday when he tossed six shutout innings while striking out nine in the Red Sox’s 4-1 American League pennant-clinching win over the Houston Astros in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series.
Price, who spent the last two innings of the Boston’s Game 4 win throwing in the bullpen, noted he thought he discovered something while preparing to come in, but he also changed up his pre-start routine.
“My last thought last night before I went to bed was probably a little bit different than usual,” Price said, via The Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato. “The night before I pitch, I’m just envisioning myself making pitches. And last night I envisioned myself doing this right here (the postgame interview), and going through my head what I was going to say.
“I’m happy it happened.”
Going on short rest, Price dazzled in Game 5, using a mid-90s fastball, slick changeup and hard slider to baffle the Astros’ vaunted lineup from the first pitch. With Chris Sale ailing, the Red Sox turned to Price to vanquish the defending World Series champions and punch Boston’s ticket to the World Series.
The oft-embattled lefty did just that, and now the Sox are four wins away from their fourth title in 15 seasons.
