ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Los Angeles Angels
couldn't hit David Price Tuesday evening, but that didn't mean the Tampa Bay
Rays left-hander went unscathed.
First, there was a shaving-cream pie in his face — courtesy of Rays ace James
Shields in the middle of a postgame interview on the field. Then Price's
teammates got in some good shots when he entered the clubhouse, minutes after
having pitched perhaps the best game of his career to give his team its fifth
win in six games.
Amid whoops and cheers, the fourth-year starter who has struggled with
inconsistency in the past two seasons had to run through a boisterous gauntlet
beneath raised arms, while players playfully pummeled him in celebration of his
five-hit, 5-0 complete-game shutout.
Of course, getting a few lumps never felt so good to Price — especially after
an effort in which he mixed up his repertoire of pitches masterfully and
finally resembled the dominant 19-game winner who finished second in the AL Cy
Young Award balloting in 2010.
"I took a beating when I got in here," he said, smiling. "But
I'll take that any day."
It was a night that Price was right and Carlos Pena was grand — collecting his
1,000th career hit and a fittingly a mammoth blast into the right-field seats.
It was a night the team that craved more power last season ripped four solo
homers — one game after setting a team record with four sacrifice flies against
the Twins. The other three were courtesy of leadoff hitter Desmond Jennings in
his first at-bat, B.J. Upton in his first round-tripper of the season since
returning last Friday from the disabled list, and Luke Scott, signed in the offseason
along with Pena to increase the muscle quotient.
It was a night the Rays set the tone with their tried-and-true formula of
take-charge pitching and sensational defense — such as the sprinting, sliding
catch in right by Matt Joyce in the third to take away a hit by Chris Iannetta,
the pinpoint charge-and-throw off a bunt by third baseman Evan Longoria to rob
Erick Aybar of a single and the deft glove work throughout by shortstop Sean
Rodriguez.
Even Price got in on the action at one point, thrusting out his arm and
catching a smash back up the middle by Vernon Wells in the second. "I just
kind of stuck my hand out there and in went in my glove," he said.
But it was what Price did with his other hand and arm that counted most. He
threw 119 pitches, 80 for strikes, constantly keeping the slumping Angels
(6-11) and their still-homerless star, Albert Pujols, off balance all night.
"He's a competitor," said Pujols, who went 0-for-4 and saw his
batting average drop to .232. "He threw a lot of off-speed. I think
everybody in the league knows that he throws a lot of fastballs, but he was
mixing up his pitches pretty well and keeping the ball down. He didn't make any
mistakes. He was pretty comfortable pitching from the wind-up all the
time."
Angels manager Mike Scioscia was equally impressed.
"Tonight, David Price pitched a heck of a game
for them," Scioscia said. "I don't know if we've seen a pitcher have
a better game against us. We had a couple of opportunities but he shut the
door. We had a couple of early hitters on and couldn't get anything going.
“Those guys just kept hitting their solo home runs and he
knew what to do with the lead. It wasn't just fastballs; he had four pitches he
was throwing on any count."
Price's manager, Joe Maddon, echoed the sentiment of the skipper he once worked
for as bench coach.
"Great command on all of his pitches — he pretty much broke out the
kitchen sink," Maddon said. "He threw his fastball where he wanted to,
his back- door cutter was there, the curveball was (there) for a strike ... he
had everything going on tonight. He was a strike-thrower with all of his
pitches, which makes it difficult for the other side because it's hard to
really nail him down.
“I thought that really was one of his best performances in
regards to using the entire repertoire."
Price didn't disagree.
"I felt good in the bullpen and really took it out there to the
mound," he said. "Jose (Molina) was calling a bunch of different
stuff and I was right there on the same page with him. We were in rhythm today
and it was good. ... My stuff feels good right now and it's just a matter of
putting everything together like I did tonight and moving forward."
Price, as always, found motivation in looking backward as well. Tuesday marked
the four-year anniversary of the death of his close friend and former high
school teammate Tyler Morrissey, killed in a car crash. He has remained close
with the Morrissey family and made mention of his late pal prior to this start.
Perhaps it's no coincidence that Price's only other complete-game shutout came
on April 25, 2010, only one day removed from the second anniversary of
Morrissey's death.
Price acknowledged he was thinking about him. "Oh yeah," he said.
"I talked to his family earlier today. They had everybody over at their
house tonight to watch the game like they usually do. ... I talked to them
after the game. They were very excited."
No one was more excited, however, than Price. Last season, he finished a drab
12-13 with a 3.49 ERA, a season after vaulting to the top of the Rays
rotation and into baseball's elite with a record of 19-6 and ERA of 2.72. But
starting in the 2010 postseason and through the opening weeks of 2012, he
hasn't seemed like the same pitcher at times.
Suddenly, however, that appears to be changing. His record
after four outings stands at 3-1 with an ERA of 2.63. Tuesday he recaptured
that aura of invincibility that Rays fans longed to see — and opponent's
didn't.
"I needed that," Price said. "I needed to get that feeling back.
It gets old coming out after the fifth and sixth inning."
He needed it to show the doubters who have wondered what became of the dazzling
lefty of 2010. Price was aware of the growing sentiment of concern over his
troubles.
"Yeah, that's fine — that's everybody in every
sport," he said. "Everyone has critics. But I'm my own biggest
critic, so I'm not going to worry about what everyone else is going to
say."
Price entered the ninth having yielded just three hits, but singles by Aybar
and Torii Hunter with two out put his complete game and shutout in jeopardy. He
then retired slugger Mark Trumbo on a fly out to left fielder Jennings to put
it away, prompting teammates to race from the dugout to mob him at the mound.
For the record, Maddon said he would have pulled Price had Trumbo
reached base, but Price wouldn't be denied in notching his second career
shutout and third complete game.
"He was the best I've ever seen him," Pena said. "I've seen him
pitch many times throughout my years here in Tampa Bay. And today was the best
I have ever seen him pitch.
“Obviously, we all know how incredibly talented he is and
how above-average his stuff is. But I thought today he was pitching. ... He made
them swing the bats early. He made them put the ball in play, but they weren't
making good contact."
Pena, on the other hand, made contact in the fourth, launching his towering
shot off Ervin Santana (responsible for all four Rays homers) and to reach a landmark
in his long, winding career through the majors — starting in 2001 with Texas,
leading through Detroit, Boston and Tampa Bay (from 2007-2010), the Cubs
and back with the Rays again this season.
"It's the tale of a dream come true," he said. "At the end of
the day, I dreamed about getting one hit in the big leagues. So for me to be
able to get 1,000, I can't put into words how special it is for me. I think the
one thing that sticks out is I'm grateful, truly grateful to sit here and say,
‘Wow, I've gotten 1,000 hits in the big leagues.'
"To me, that's a lot. Maybe that mark is not celebrated in baseball
because we celebrate 2,000 and 3,000. But I celebrated the fact that I got one.
So 1,000 is just icing on the cake."
And the fact it was a homer? "Yeah," he said. "That makes it
even special."
For the sparse Tropicana Field crowd of 14,933, it was one of many special
moments — topped by a pitching performance that was well worth the price of
admission.
