Tampa Bay Rays‘ starting pitcher David Price got revenge for the Texas Rangers beating him in his last three playoff starts. The Rays defeated the Rangers, 5-2, in a winner-take-all tiebreaker game to play the Cleveland Indians in the American League Wild Card game on Wednesday.
Price has shown in the past that when he is on his game he is nearly unbeatable. He is the reigning AL Cy Young winner after having a 20-5 record with a 2.56 ERA and 205 strikeouts in 211 Innings Pitched.
On Monday night, Price dominated the Rangers in a complete game win. He allowed only two runs, eight total base runners, and struck out four hitters.
The Rangers’ hitters looked clueless at the plate, outside of second baseman Ian Kinsler and third baseman Adrian Beltre, trying to get a hit off Price. The base runners that Price allowed were scattered over the nine innings he pitched, thus the Rangers had very few opportunities to try to win the game.
The box score would make it appear like Price had a good start, but he pitched better than that. He was in control throughout the game and it was never in doubt that he would win the game.
He looked like an ace and his 2012 self on Monday night.
When Price is pitching like his 2012 self, very few teams could defeat him. He can overpower hitters with his fastball or he can make them look foolish with his change up or slider.
The Rays would play the Boston Red Sox if they win on Wednesday. The Red Sox have a very good lineup, and it could be a pitching duel between two great pitchers, Jon Lester and Price.
Price would have to try to put his recent October demons behind him in order to win that potential match-up. He has the potential to carry the Rays to their second World Series in their franchise history if he can continue to pitch like an ace.
Noah Weintraub is a Contributing Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @NoahWeintraub, join his Facebook group, or add him to your network on Google.
