ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – David Price has always been his own toughest critic.
The new Red Sox ace blames himself for Boston’s recent struggles, saying Wednesday he hasn’t set a tone for the team to be successful by pitching deeper into games.
“I need to pitch better. It’s nothing else, it’s not bad luck – it’s me. I’ve got to get better,” Price said after a 4-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field dropped Boston to 13-19 since May 26.
The Red Sox have lost seven of their last 10 games, including two of three to the Rays, who entered the series on an 11-game losing streak.
Price (8-5) was outpitched Wednesday by former Tampa Bay teammate Matt Moore. The 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner allowed four runs and nine hits while striking out 10 in 6 innings.
“On a day when I thought overall he probably had his best stuff of the season, in terms of velocity, in terms of the shape to his secondary pitches, they bunched a couple hits together,” Boston Manager John Farrell said.
Tampa Bay’s Brandon Guyer returned from a three-week stint on the disabled list and hit a solo homer in the second inning. He doubled down the left-field line in the third, driving in another run to make it 4-1.
Price was a lot more critical of his performance than Farrell was.
“That’s probably the worst changeup I’ve had in a month. My curveball was awful. I can’t move my cutter and slider how I want to, and command my fastball the way I need to,” Price said.
“It’s frustrating. It’s been my worst year,” the left-hander added. “It’s unacceptable.”
Through 16 starts this season, Price is 8-5 with a 4.74 ERA. He’s given up 15 home runs in 108 innings pitched with 120 strikeouts. The statistics are close to his start in the 2014 season, his last in Tampa Bay. He finished the season with the Detroit Tigers at 15-12 with a 3.26 ERA. Through 16 starts in 2014, Price was 5-7 with a 3.81 ERA in 115 innings.
On Wednesday, Moore (4-5) allowed three singles in seven innings and struck out five to beat Price, who fell to 1-3 in five career starts against his former team.
The Red Sox were held hitless until Christian Vazquez singled leading off the sixth. Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts followed with hits to load the bases with one out, but David Ortiz popped up and Hanley Ramirez hit a routine fly that ended the threat.
“Moore was very good. … We have the big opportunity with David and Hanley in the middle of the order,” Farrell said. “You figure that’s the time we cash in. But that wasn’t the case.”
Price was beaten by the Rays for the second time this season. He also lost to Tampa Bay, 12-8, at Fenway Park on April 21.
“I’m just putting us behind the 8-ball in a lot of games. I’m not setting the tone the way that I need to,” Price said. “It’s crushing me right now, but I’ll get there.”
Boston was shut out for the third time this season. The Rays, who ended a streak of 13 consecutive games in which the pitching staff gave up five or more runs, also blanked the Red Sox 3-0 in 10 innings on April 19.