BOSTON — David Price bounced his first pitch on Saturday night well in front of the plate.
As ugly as that pitch was, it was one of the highlights of his night, because at least Andrew McCutchen didn’t hit it out of Fenway Park.
Price’s longtime struggles in the postseason — and against the Yankees any time of year — only got worse in Game 2 of the ALDS, as the lefty failed to even get out of the second inning. He gave up three runs in just 1 ²/₃ innings before he was yanked and replaced by Joe Kelly.
Price’s latest fiasco started when Aaron Judge belted a 445-foot homer over the Green Monster in left-center to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the first.
Gary Sanchez then opened the second with another homer over the Green Monster to make it 2-0. Price then managed to get a pair of groundouts from Didi Gregorius and Miguel Andujar, but he walked Gleyber Torres to extend the inning.
Brett Gardner worked another walk after being behind 1-2. Price begged for a 2-2 pitch that was inside and Gardner walked on the next pitch.
That forced Boston manager Alex Cora to get Kelly up in the bullpen, as Price faced McCutchen.
McCutchen hammered a ball off the Monster that likely would have been a three-run homer anywhere else, but went for an RBI single.
The hit ended Price’s outing, with the Yankees leading 3-0.
Since the start of 2016, the lefty is 2-7 with a 7.71 ERA against the Yankees.
He also had a 10-game stretch in the postseason in which he had a 5.90 ERA. That ended a year ago with two solid outings out of the bullpen with the Red Sox, but his October issues clearly have not gone away.
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