After coming back to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4, the Boston Red Sox are now just one win away from a World Series Championship, and they have the luxury of three opportunities to capture it.
The Game 5 pitching matchup at Dodger Stadium was expected to be a rematch of Game 1 between aces Clayton Kershaw and Chris Sale, but the Red Sox have made a change.
After Game 4, manager Alex Cora revealed that it will actually be David Price starting against Kershaw. “We feel like David is good tomorrow. He’s okay. Chris is good. But it’s something we talked about before the game,” Cora explained.
“We talked about it before the game and this is a good spot for David, in a National League park to start a game. Obviously, he’s been throwing the ball well. It’s not that we’re playing with the lead, but we feel that for the team, for where we’re at pitching-wise it’s good to go with David.”
Price pitched six innings of two-run ball in Game 2 at Fenway Park, helping the Red Sox earn a victory. He then came back on just one day of rest in the 18-inning marathon in Game 3 and got two outs out of the bullpen, throwing 13 pitches.
So his Game 5 start will come on just one day of rest from his last outing, and three days’ of rest from his last start.
Price pitched on three days’ rest earlier in the postseason when he started Game 5 of the American League Championship Series. He put together a gem against the Houston Astros to earn his first career win in the postseason and send the Red Sox to the World Series.
Sale, on the other hand, dealt with arm issues in the second half of the year and a stomach issue in the postseason, so a lot of this has to do with getting him extra rest. As Cora said, he will be available out of the bullpen in Game 5, and if the Red Sox are not able to close it out then he will start Game 6 back at Fenway Park.
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