Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora made a seemingly surprising move in Tuesday night’s game against the Minnesota Twins, pulling starter David Price.
Price was throwing very well. He had gone five innings, allowing only one run on four hits with no walks and two strikeouts on only 73 pitches. Even with starters going shorter into games, we wouldn’t expect to see someone like Price pulled after that effort.
Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe also noted that Price was averaging 94 with his fastball. So, it wasn’t as though his velocity was down. Abraham speculated that Price might have tweaked something when avoiding a broken bat that was heading towards him.
That would add up. Price has spent time on the injured list this season. Even if Price’s injuries were relatively minor, it would only make sense that the Red Sox would be cautious.
Still, there were no immediate reports of an injury after he was pulled. This is a situation that will be worth paying attention to after the game and in the coming days.