Boston Red Sox: David Price cements his legacy during pennant clinching win

After all the doubts and second-guesses, David Price finds himself  amongst history after helping clinch a World Series birth for the Boston Red Sox.

David Price doesn’t have a chip on his shoulder anymore. The Boston Red Sox lefty has finally flipped the script on his dreadful reputation in the playoffs, leading his squad to a 4-1 pennant clinching win against the Houston Astros on the road.

The victory not only puts the Red Sox in the World Series for the first time since 2013, but also places them at 5-0 on the road so far in the 2018 postseason.

A magical run that started back in April got even better when Price took the mound for Game 5 of the ALCS, and gave the best performance he’s arguably ever given in his career (pressure-wise). The lefty went six innings, surrendering no runs, while obtaining nine strikeouts.

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According to MLB.com, Price’s career postseason record now improves to 3-9 with a 5.04 ERA. While the southpaw still has a long way to go as far as feeling comfortable with his repertoire in the playoffs, the poise he showed in Game 5 to help clinch the World Series birth was definitely a huge step in the right direction. No one would have expected this, especially after a rough start against the Yankees in the ALDS, and then another inconsistent outing earlier in this series against  Houston.

The start also shows the genius of Alex Cora. The manager knowingly threw Price into a contest where even if Boston did lose, the series would still head back to Fenway for a pivotal Game 6, where Chris Sale would most likely take the mound.

Albeit, the ace was hospitalized recently, and seems to be going through a tough situation at the moment. Either way, taking some pressure off of Price ended up being the eventual difference in the victory.

In a way, Cora killed two birds with one stone, because now Price has even more confidence heading to the World Series, regardless of who Boston will see. Now, hopefully he feels like he can pitch great in the postseason. It’s a great moment for a guy who genuinely deserves it,

On the other hand, Rafael Devers also cemented his own legacy in Red Sox lore, hitting the go-ahead three-run home run in the top of the sixth. The second-year player is not suffering from any Sophomore slump, hitting .350 in the 2018 postseason with seven RBIs, according to Baseball-Reference. His contribution alone is all the offense needed to put the game out of reach.

Much like in Game 1 of the ALDS, JD Martinez set the right tone with a solo home run as well off of Justin Verlander. Getting to Houston’s ace early became integral, especially with Gerrit Cole looming for a potential Game 6. Verlander still looked just as sharp as Price at times, but the few mistakes he made were costly. Luckily, the Sox won’t have to see him until next April (unless he leaves of course).

All in all, this has been three years in the making, starting all the way back to when John Farrell was manager. Now, it seems like Cora has the right team in all the right places, and any flaw that looked to be evident is now solved.

The Boston Red Sox are finally ready to win it all whether or not the Brewers or Dodgers are ready for it. Fortunately, The fans are too.