It only took the Indians 65 pitches to solve Red Sox starter David Price on Friday afternoon. After a 1-2-3 first inning, Price served up three consecutive singles to Carlos Santana, Jose Ramirez, and Brandon Guyer before unloading a three-run bomb to Lonnie Chisenhall in the second.
Price allowed four more baserunners between the second and fourth innings, issuing a walk to Roberto Perez and a pair of singles to Mike Napoli, who made his first steal of the playoffs, and Brandon Guyer. A second walk to Perez was the final straw for John Farrell, who pulled the lefty with one out in the fourth inning.
At 65 pitches and 3 1/3 innings pitched, this officially marks the shortest postseason start of Price’s career to date. He eclipsed his previous mark by a wide margin after going six innings against the Rangers during a Game 5 loss in the 2010 ALDS. According to MLB.com’s Ian Browne, his collective postseason ERA has yet to dip below 5.00 (sample size notwithstanding):
Price's ERA in nine postseason starts -- 5.74.
— Ian Browne (@IanMBrowne) October 7, 2016
Without Price, the Red Sox currently trail the Indians 5-0 after five innings.