News
Price feels good about starting on road
Tampa Bay (69-58) at Detroit (68-59), 4:05 p.m. ET
By Bill Chastain / MLB.com
08/28/09 11:04 PM ET
DETROIT -- Maybe Detroit will be the place where David Price puts to bed his road demons.In Price's brief Major League career, the 24-year-old left-hander has yet to nail down a win on the road. He is 0-4 with a 6.31 ERA in 11 career appearances away from Tropicana Field, of which eight have been starts.
Rays manager Joe Maddon said not winning on the road is nothing new for a young pitcher.
"Normally they seem to be more comfortable at home to begin with," Maddon said. "But I think he's a mature young man, and I think he'll grow in that regard, too. And I don't have a lot of concern for that. It just takes time."
Price didn't seem to feel too uncomfortable about the fact he would be pitching on the road, either.
"It's a big park, good fans and it's a fun place to play," Price said of Comerica Park. "I feel good. Arm feels good, body feels great. Everything feels real good right now."
Saturday's game will televised by FOX, so a regional audience will be able to watch and see whether Price can get it together on the road with Kenny Albert and Mark Grace calling the action.
The quality of the Tigers' lineup is of more concern to Price than the venue.
"You've got to get ahead of them," Price said. "A team like this, they're very similar to a team like Texas or the Yankees; the one through nine guys in that lineup can all hurt you. That's both a good thing and a bad thing."
Price explained that if he can get ahead in the counts the Tigers have a lot of hitters who will still be taking big swings despite their situation.
"That kind of makes it easier to make pitches," Price said. "They don't try to cut down their swings. They still try to hit the ball out of the park. But if you get behind, you need to make a good pitch when you're in that hitter's count. Because if you don't they're definitely going to let you know about it."
Price also believes that the fact the Tigers are in first place and likely headed for the playoffs also makes them more of a dangerous team.
"There's going to be more urgency on their side whenever they're up to the plate, whenever they're pitching, whenever they're playing defense," Price said. "So there's definitely going to be more urgency there than last year when they didn't have a chance. But this year they're in the hunt, and they're going to want it a lot more."
Pitching matchupTB: LHP David Price (6-6, 4.93 ERA)
For the second straight start, Price battled a high pitch count but was effective. Despite picking up the loss against the Rangers on Sunday, the 23-year-old left-hander gave up just three runs in seven innings, scattering three hits and three walks while striking out four. Price's pitch count was at 94 after the fifth, but he was able to give his team two more innings and finished throwing 114 pitches -- 72 of which were strikes. The only two runs charged to him came on balls that barely sneaked through the infield -- one a two-run single on a slow roller down the first-base line, and the other a chopper that bounced awkwardly high at third base. Price, who has pitched 2 2/3 shutout innings in his career against the Tigers, is 6-2 with a 2.96 ERA at home compared with an 0-4 mark and 8.07 ERA on the road. DET: LHP Nate Robertson (1-0, 7.71 ERA)
Robertson will end his rehab stint at Triple-A Toledo and his two-month stay on the disabled list to make his first start of the season, taking the place of injured Armando Galarraga. The veteran left-hander made five rehab starts with the Mud Hens, going 1-1 with a 1.89 ERA, but it was his last two starts that gave organizational officials belief he was ready. His fastball hit 91 mph both times, and his slider had enough bite to help rack up nine strikeouts over 6 1/3 scoreless innings in his last start Tuesday. He has done well enough that there's genuine intrigue whether his surgery two months ago to remove tissue masses from his elbow freed up his arm to regain some of his old form. Tidbits
Carl Crawford was back in the lineup Friday night after leaving Monday night's game when his back stiffened on him in Toronto; he did not play in either Tuesday or Wednesday night's games. ... Ben Zobrist was away from the team Friday night because of a death in the family; he is expected to be back with the team Saturday. ... Entering Friday night's game, the Rays had played .600 ball since May 29, but they have lost three games on first place since then. ... Gregg Zaun started for the 11th time in 18 games since joining the Rays on Aug. 8. Tickets
Buy tickets now to catch the game in person.
On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio• Gameday
• Official game notes On television
• FOX On radio
• WDAE 620 Up next
• Sunday: Rays (TBA) at Tigers (Justin Verlander, 14-7, 3.38), 1:05 p.m. ET
• Monday: Rays (James Shields, 8-10, 3.81) at Tigers (Jarrod Washburn, 9-7, 3.23), 1:05 p.m. ET
• Tuesday: Rays (TBA) vs. Red Sox (Tim Wakefield, 11-3, 4.12), 7:08 p.m. ET
Bill Chastain is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
