— David Price believes he’s finally become the pitcher the Boston Red Sox were looking for when they signed him.
Price pitched seven solid innings
Jon Weeks Jersey , J.D. Martinez hit his major league-leading 38th homer after Boston jumped to a quick lead and the Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2
on Saturday night for their 17th victory in 20 games.
Signed to a seven-year, $217 million deal before 2016, the lefty feels as if he’s finally paying off.
“Getting back to myself. I definitely changed a lot of stuff up here the last 2 ½ years,” he said. “To be able to get back to the pitcher that Boston signed,
it’s about time.”
Price (13-6) gave up two runs on five hits, striking out eight, walking two and hitting a batter. He is 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA in his five starts since the
All-Star break.
With ace lefty Chris Sale going on the 10-day disabled list Saturday for the second time in nearly three weeks, Price doesn’t see any additional pressure to
fill the void.
“I’m making $32 million,” Price said. “It don’t change what I’m doing. I’ve got enough pressure on me.”
And he’s responded.
“We expect him to go deep into games and give us a chance to win and he’s been doing that,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.
Mitch Moreland added an RBI double during Boston’s four-run first inning. The Red Sox, who own the majors’ best record, improved to a season-high 52 games
over .500 and maintained their 10 ½-game lead over the second-place New York
Yankees in the AL East.
C.J. Cron hit a two-run homer for the Rays. Tampa Bay fell to 4-11 against Boston this season.
Tyler Glasnow (0-1)
Jabaal Sheard Jersey , making his fourth start since being acquired from Pittsburgh at the non-wavier trading deadline, gave up five runs, four earned,
and three hits. He walked three and struck out four in 6 2/3 innings.
“Very encouraging. The first inning was such a fluke for him, for all of us. Just a lot of odd things,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “His strike-throwing
kind of eluded him for whatever reason, but he’s got to take a lot of positives
from that outing.”
The Red Sox took advantage of Glasnow’s wildness to jump ahead 4-0 in the first. Moreland’s RBI double made it 1-0 before Martinez and Xander Bogaerts
walked to load the bases. The righty then walked Ian Kinsler, forcing in a
run.
First baseman Jake Bauers then fired Brock Holt’s grounder into left field attempting a force at second and two runs scored, making it 4-0.
“Just came in, didn’t feel that great from warmups to the first inning,” Glasnow said. “Just kind of realized that this is what I had today and I needed
to just go out and compete as hard as I can and get out of that fix-it
mode.”
In the third, Martinez homered into Boston’s bullpen.
Cron’s homer cleared the Green Monster and left Fenway Park completely in the sixth.
Craig Kimbrel got the final three outs for his 37th save.
HEADS UP
Tampa Bay’s Carlos Gomez advanced to third when it was left uncovered on a popup that was caught between first and the plate in the first inning.
“That was probably my part to go cover third base right there and I didn’t do that
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NOT HEADS UP
With Kinsler on second and Holt on first in the first, Kinsler got caught trying to steal third too quickly when Glasnow stepped off and got him in a
rundown. Holt was unsure where to go, standing between first and second before
he was tagged out in a rundown for an inning-ending double play.
Three innings later, Tampa Bay’s Tommy Pham was doubled off second on a fly ball to the left-field warning track.
FRIENDLY FENWAY
The Red Sox improved their home record to a majors’ best 44-15.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rays: C Jesus Sucre missed his fourth straight game with a sore right wrist.
Red Sox: Sale was placed on the DL with mild inflammation in his left shoulder. “It’s definitely less than it was last time,” Sale said. . LHP Eduardo
Rodriguez (DL since July 15, sprained right ankle) is scheduled to make a rehab
start on Monday.
UP NEXT
Rays: Cash said after the game that RHP Diego Castillo (3-2, 3.63 ERA) would start Sunday’s series finale.
Red Sox: RHP Hector Velazquez (7-0, 2.77) will take Sale’s turn.
Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly says contract extensions for center Nikola Jokic
and guard Will Barton are among his offseason priorities and he hinted coach
Michael Malone might be in line for one, too.
The Nuggets have increased their win totals from 30 to 40 to 46 under Malone but they extended their playoff drought to five years when they lost in overtime
at Minnesota in the season finale this week.
”This is the most confident I’ve been in our core group since I’ve been here,” said Connelly, who’s been in his post in Denver since 2013. ”I think we
have the makings of a team that can enjoy sustainably high levels of
success.
”I think there’s going to be some pretty interesting financial decisions we’ll make this offseason.”
Jokic was drafted in the second round in 2014 and signed a three-year, $4 million deal a year later. The Nuggets have a $1.6 million fourth-year
option
Nick Martin Jersey , which they can decline this summer and instead give Jokic a max contract.
While that would crimp their budget next season, it would keep their star away from free agency.
”He’s a guy that’s been tremendous in how quickly he’s developed and a guy that we love and he loves Denver. So, the sooner we can get his signature on a
long-term contract, the better,” Connelly said Friday.
Connelly also lauded the versatile Barton’s growth, and said, ”we hope we can get something done. He’s our guy. We love him and I think if he’s back in a
Denver jersey, it’s good for both him and the team.”
Malone has a year left on his original four-year deal he signed in 2015. Although he wouldn’t commit to an extension for his coach this summer, Connelly
made it clear how he feels about Malone and his staff, suggesting it would be
foolhardy to view a 46-win season as a disappointment or a fire-able
offense.
”I think Coach and his staff have done a wonderful job,” Connelly said. ”We’ve got to continue to challenge each other. We’ve got to get better. This
press conference is premature. We can’t keep having it after the regular
season.”
In praising Malone, Connelly cited his 16-game improvement over two years and the development of the team’s core young players
Marvin Jones Jr Jersey , emphasizing the difficulty in coaching a young team.
The Nuggets played better than any team in the West over the last dozen games and took a six-game winning streak into the season finale against the
Timberwolves. That marked the first time in franchise history that the Nuggets
had posted six straight wins against teams with winning records.
Yet, their inability to close out a seventh straight victory left them lamenting a dozen or so games they frittered away during a trying season in
which free agent addition Paul Millsap missed 44 games and second-leading scorer
Gary Harris missed 11.
”I thought 46 wins would have us firmly in the playoffs, in a pretty good spot,” Connelly said. ”I’m certainly disappointed we didn’t make it. … But as I
reflect on the season and the growth that we’ve shown, I’m unbelievably proud of
our team.”
Yet, he’s also running low on patience.
”I thought we had extended stretches of very good basketball. I think at times we had games that were inexcusable, and those games come back to haunt
you,” Connelly said.
Echoing Malone, Connelly said this season was never a ”playoffs-or-bust” undertaking, but next season certainly will have that feel.
”I think we’re there,” Connelly said. ”How many times can you be the bridesmaid?”
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