The Red Sox had seen J.P. Howell's curveball, over and over, and they had locked in on Dan Wheeler's fastball, and they had come to be patient against Grant Balfour, until his wildness manifested itself. It was as if Boston had been presented with the exact same maze day after day, and by the end of Game 5, the Red Sox had just about mastered it.
And this is why Rays manager
Joe Maddon came out of the dugout in the eighth inning, pointed to his bullpen mound down the right-field line and summoned a pitcher with 15 innings in the major leagues for the first save chance of his professional career.
David Price walked into the game with precisely an inning of postseason experience on his résumé, with the bases filled, with
J.D. Drew -- one of the game's purest hitters -- waiting for him.
But Price also came in with something that no other player in this series really had: He was shrouded in mystery, as someone the Red Sox had faced only one time before, in Game 2. Drew knows Trever Miller's breaking ball and he knows that Howell has a two-seam fastball that runs inside, but Drew hadn't gotten up close and personal with Price's fastball and breaking ball repeatedly. So while he might have read in scouting reports that Price liked to throw first-pitch sliders, he really was getting one of his first looks at the pitch when Price spun a 89-mph dart over the outside corner. Strike One.
To continue reading this article you must be an Insider
Buster Olney
