David Price on early exit from Saturday start: ‘I wanted to stay in the game’

David Price tried to gut out his Saturday night start while dealing with flu-like symptoms, but Alex Cora didn't want to take any chances.

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Price was replaced by reliever Colten Brewer after facing only three Astros batters. Following the Red Sox' 4-3 loss, the left-hander said he wanted to stay in the game. Ultimately, that wasn't his decision to make.

Price: "I could’ve ducked the start from the get-go. I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want to put us in that position. I went out there and tried to take the ball. A.C. didn’t like what he saw so he took me out of the game. I wanted to stay in the game when he came out there."
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) May 26, 2019

Cora said he simply wanted to avoid the situation from worsening, as the Sox can ill afford to have Price land on the injured list again for an extended period of time.

Cora on Price: “There’s a bigger picture here. We need this guy to be right and shame on me if he makes a pitch and something happens. That was going to be on me.”
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) May 26, 2019

The good news is Price didn't suffer a setback with his elbow as was originally feared. He had just returned from the IL on Monday after dealing with left elbow tendinitis.

The Red Sox will look to avoid getting swept by the Astros on Sunday.

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