ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- David Price won the American League Cy Young Award in 2012, so at first glance, it seems preposterous to argue that he's pitching better now than he has ever before throughout his career. But that's the reality after watching the left-hander's fifth consecutive start with at least 10 strikeouts Wednesday.
He's not perfect. He's not infallible.
But he has reached another level of control within his craft.
Price latest appearance, which featured one run and five hits allowed with 11 strikeouts throughout 8 1/3 innings during the Tampa Bay Rays' 5-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, was the typical ace fire he has shown throughout June. The five consecutive starts with double-digit strikeouts make him the first person to achieve the feat since left-hander Johan Santana did so with the Minnesota Twins from June 20-July 11, 2004. Price looked unfazed throughout his virtuoso performance, despite the reality hanging over him that, with the Rays about to embark on a 10-day, 11-game road trip Friday, this could have been his final start at Tropicana Field with trade rumors swirling.
"I've never been as good as I am right now, period," Price said. "Not in 2012, not in college, not in high school. This is the best pitcher I've ever been. I feel in complete control on the mound at all times with all my pitches on both sides of the plate. It's tough to do."
| SUMMER BREEZE DAVID PRICE'S SPLENDID JUNE |
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JUNE 4 VS. MARLINS 7 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 0 BB, 11 K |
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JUNE 9 VS. MARINERS 8 IP, 3 ER, 1 BB, 10 K |
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JUNE 15 AT ASTROS 8 IP, 3 ER, 0 BB, 10 K |
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JUNE 20 VS. ASTROS 8 IP, 2 ER, 3 BB, 12 K |
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JUNE 25 VS. ASTROS 8 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 K |
That's a measure of Price's growing greatness. He has made the difficult seem effortless, the mastery appear assumed.
Certainly, there are better pitchers throwing today, Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw and Seattle Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez, to name a few. But Price, as he has done throughout most of his seven years in the majors, has placed himself in the conversation among the sport's elite.
Yes, that's tough to do.
"He locates his fastball so well," Rays third baseman Evan Longoria said. "He throws hard. When you have that combination, and you can really get it going like he has, you see the end result. It has been really fun to watch. That's the bottom line."
Add to the bottom line: Price's month has been ridiculous.
His 54 strikeouts in June are a club record for any month. He's on track for 292 strikeouts this season, a figure not reached since Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Randy Johnson (334) and Diamondbacks right-hander Curt Schilling (316) in 2002. To place the pace in perspective, only four pitchers have reached the benchmark since 1990: Johnson (seven times), Schilling (four), right-hander Pedro Martinez (two) and right-hander Roger Clemens (one).
It's a shame that Price's dominance can't be enjoyed for what it is: Rare brilliance. Period.
Of course, the run comes with the backdrop of his rising value as a trade piece for the struggling Rays, who began Wednesday as the majors' worst team for the third consecutive week. The peripheral chatter will grow louder.
There was an odd undertone to Price's postgame remarks Wednesday, a sign of the times. He spoke with his blue "TB" Rays hat tugged near his sight line. He said, when reflecting on his wave and hat tip to the 23,761 in attendance upon his exit from the field, "If this is my last game here, you know, thanks." He recalled giving up home runs in his last start at Vanderbilt and his final appearance in 2013 in Boston, which he thought was going to be his Rays farewell. He said he wanted fans to know that he cared, a fitting verbal curtain call if this indeed was his walk into the horizon toward another destination.
Even the smallest of details, a question of whether him running onto the field by himself to start the game held any meaning, was a topic of curiosity. The tea leaves were everywhere.
"Thank you," Price said. "These fans are awesome."
Neither Price nor anyone who shares a clubhouse with him wants to see this dominant stretch end, of course. But it's understood how a changing of the guard within Tampa Bay's rotation has seemed assumed since the Rays lost to the Boston Red Sox in the American League Division Series last October.
Price is aware of the history, his own present molded by this past. He saw right-hander Matt Garza dealt to the Chicago Cubs in 2011. He saw right-hander James Shields, a mentor, dealt to the Kansas City Royals in 2012.
Price assumed he was next.
Comfort doesn't always equate long-term stability, even for someone with his skill. That has become his quandary as he has grown: He has become so good, too good, that his talent has created doubts about his future and a possible opportunity elsewhere. The questions have annoyed him. He would love to stay. Financial realities make it difficult for him to do so.
"For me, it's about the Rays and the Rays doing well and David is a Ray," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "As far as I'm concerned, he is a Ray. I don't lament that. I don't lament the potentiality of the situation."
Yet the potentiality of everything as it relates to Price can't be ignored now, not with the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline looming closer by the hour. The questions have become part of the ace's life on the mound, since he walked into the offseason last fall with similar unknowns.
Even with his recent dominance it's hard not to think, "What if?" and "What next?"
"I only know what you guys write," Price said. "So that's it."
He knows he's special. He also understands that's why so many wonder what will become of him soon.
You can follow Andrew Astleford on Twitter @aastleford or email him at aastleford@gmail.com.
