Written by John Lauber at ESPN.com
Five days before this American League Division Series started, amid the euphoria of a sudsy celebration that marked the clinching of the AL East, Boston Red Sox owner John Henry contemplated the postseason impact David Price could make as a relief pitcher.
Actually, Henry already had witnessed it firsthand.
“It was 2008 when he came in and shut us down from the bullpen,” Henry said, referring to Price’s role in helping the Tampa Bay Rays vanquish the Red Sox in a seven-game AL Championship Series played almost a decade ago. “Maybe we’ll see that again this year. I think we will.”
Not an unreasonable request from the man who paid Price $30 million this year. Sure enough, when the Red Sox needed him most Sunday in Game 3 against the Houston Astros, darned if Price didn’t turn in the best relief appearance the franchise had seen since Pedro Martinez shrugged off a bad back to throw six scoreless innings in Game 5 of the division series in 1999.
This game, like that one, had win-or-go-home implications. This game, like that one, saw the Red Sox fall behind early by three runs but rally to take a lead. This game, like that one, required a former Cy Young Award winner who had been compromised by injury to rise up and shut down the most powerful lineup in the league.
The final score — 10-3 Red Sox, who extended their season by at least one more day — betrays how tense it was during the four innings Price stood on the mound. When he entered in the fourth inning, the Red Sox had their first lead of the series, 4-3, on baby-faced rookie Rafael Devers’ two-run homer. When Price left to a thunderous ovation after the top of the seventh, it was still 4-3, with the Astros’ mighty offense stuck in neutral.
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