One of ways that starting pitchers can have success is by locating pitches and having good command. The other way is by striking out opposing batters and imposing their will on the mound.
The history of baseball is filled with pitchers who were strikeout artists in their respective era, and one specific player is carving a new path this season.
The Tampa Bay Rays really don’t have much to cheer about this season, except for when David Price starts.
He has been involved in numerous trade rumors, but that hasn’t impacted his performance on the mound.
Price has a 3.63 ERA across 17 starts in 124 innings pitched, and leads the Majors in strikeouts with 144. The most recent outing for him, he threw 8.1 innings and gave up one run with 11 strikeouts against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
This was significant, because it was the fifth consecutive start he struck out at least 10 batters.
Forget pizza, @DAVIDprice14 has 5 straight double-digit strikeout games. He's first pitcher in 10 yrs to do so. Last was Johan Santana.
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) June 25, 2014
He became just the eighth pitcher to accomplish this feat in five consecutive games, and the first since Johan Santana in 2004.
The Major League record for this type of streak is eight straight starts with at least 10 strikeouts, and only one person has reached this. Pedro Martinez had eight straight starts for the Boston Red Sox with 10 or more strikeouts in 1999.
This is a very impressive streak and it will be interesting if he continue striking out batters in his next couple of starts.
David Price joined some exclusive company with his fifth-straight 10+ K game this afternoon: pic.twitter.com/70iSqgwJZH
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 25, 2014
Photo: CBS Sports