David Price's fastball, for starters
No one should be surprised that the Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers are tied at a game apiece. Their A.L. Division Series went the full five games last year and both teams came into the postseason playing their best ball of the season.
What has been unexpected is how the games played out.
First a shocker: Rays rookie Matt Moore, in only his second career start, shut down one of the game's best offenses and beat Rangers ace C.J. Wilson. Then a stunner: Rays ace James Shields, who shut down the Rangers in the regular season, could not overcome a rare bout of wildness as the Rangers won Game 2.
Based on such a start to the series, who knows what Game 3 might bring in Monday's 5:07 p.m. ET start?
Yet another reason to expect the unexpected at Tropicana Field is Rays starter David Price. He is one of the game's best lefty starters, a two-time All-Star at 26 who was the first pick in the 2007 draft. When Price says, "I expect to go nine innings and give up zero runs," you understand. He's that good.
Price also is coming off a disappointing regular season that concluded with two subpar starts in a winless September. And he will be facing the only A.L. team he has not beaten in his four-year career. In eight starts against the Rangers and a lineup dominated by right-handed hitters, he is 0-5 with a 5.48 ERA, including two losses in last year's playoffs.
"It is tough to forget about," Price said Sunday. "It is something that I think about and something that I want to get over with."
Predicting which Price will show up at Tropicana Field is as difficult as figuring out what lineup Rays manager Joe Maddon will devise to face Rangers starter Colby Lewis. But knowing what Price's pitching depends on is as easy as finding a ticket to a Rays' regular-season game. It all comes down to fastball command.
If Price puts his 95 mph four-seamer where he wants, he'll be fine. While true for any pitcher, it applies even more to Price because he relies so heavily on his heater. In one start this season, he threw 112 pitches?and 102 were fastballs. And this was a season in which he learned to mix in his slider and changeup more than ever.
Price was asked the other day if he learned anything from Moore's seven shutout innings of the Rangers in Game 1.
"Yeah, throw strike one," he said. Price repeated himself at a Sunday news conference in speaking of Moore. "He was 0-1 and 0-2 a lot the other night and that calls for some defensive swings. Whenever you can get that out of guys like on a Rangers team, that's what you need."
Maddon has been talking lately about Price needing to rely more on his other "toys in the toy box."
"I think he's gotten away from doing some things on occasion that make him really good," Maddon said. "We'll just talk about it and I have already put it in (pitching coach Jim Hickey's) ear."
Perhaps, but Maddon knows the key to Price's performance. The skipper talks about fastball command before and after most of Price's starts. If it's not there Monday, the Rays could find themselves in a 2-1 hole.
Overcoming that would be a surprise. Only three teams have in 22 Division Series.
No one should be surprised that the Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers are tied at a game apiece. Their A.L. Division Series went the full five games last year and both teams came into the postseason playing their best ball of the season.
What has been unexpected is how the games played out.
First a shocker: Rays rookie Matt Moore, in only his second career start, shut down one of the game's best offenses and beat Rangers ace C.J. Wilson. Then a stunner: Rays ace James Shields, who shut down the Rangers in the regular season, could not overcome a rare bout of wildness as the Rangers won Game 2.
Based on such a start to the series, who knows what Game 3 might bring in Monday's 5:07 p.m. ET start?
Yet another reason to expect the unexpected at Tropicana Field is Rays starter David Price. He is one of the game's best lefty starters, a two-time All-Star at 26 who was the first pick in the 2007 draft. When Price says, "I expect to go nine innings and give up zero runs," you understand. He's that good.
Price also is coming off a disappointing regular season that concluded with two subpar starts in a winless September. And he will be facing the only A.L. team he has not beaten in his four-year career. In eight starts against the Rangers and a lineup dominated by right-handed hitters, he is 0-5 with a 5.48 ERA, including two losses in last year's playoffs.
"It is tough to forget about," Price said Sunday. "It is something that I think about and something that I want to get over with."
Predicting which Price will show up at Tropicana Field is as difficult as figuring out what lineup Rays manager Joe Maddon will devise to face Rangers starter Colby Lewis. But knowing what Price's pitching depends on is as easy as finding a ticket to a Rays' regular-season game. It all comes down to fastball command.
If Price puts his 95 mph four-seamer where he wants, he'll be fine. While true for any pitcher, it applies even more to Price because he relies so heavily on his heater. In one start this season, he threw 112 pitches?and 102 were fastballs. And this was a season in which he learned to mix in his slider and changeup more than ever.
Price was asked the other day if he learned anything from Moore's seven shutout innings of the Rangers in Game 1.
"Yeah, throw strike one," he said. Price repeated himself at a Sunday news conference in speaking of Moore. "He was 0-1 and 0-2 a lot the other night and that calls for some defensive swings. Whenever you can get that out of guys like on a Rangers team, that's what you need."
Maddon has been talking lately about Price needing to rely more on his other "toys in the toy box."
"I think he's gotten away from doing some things on occasion that make him really good," Maddon said. "We'll just talk about it and I have already put it in (pitching coach Jim Hickey's) ear."
Perhaps, but Maddon knows the key to Price's performance. The skipper talks about fastball command before and after most of Price's starts. If it's not there Monday, the Rays could find themselves in a 2-1 hole.
Overcoming that would be a surprise. Only three teams have in 22 Division Series.
