David Price scratched from Wednesday start

We’re just about an hour away from the start of this Red Sox-Yankees series, and we’ve already got a change to the pitching plans. David Price, who was removed after just one inning in his last outing against the Yankees, has been scratched from his scheduled start on Wednesday due to the same issues that ailed him in that aforementioned outing. Apparently, the lefty threw a bullpen session on Sunday that had to be cut short, and he’s heading back to Boston to undergo some tests.

As Abraham notes, Rick Porcello will now be on the mound for Wednesday’s game facing off against Masahiro Tanaka, and Eduardo Rodriguez will throw Thursday against CC Sabathia. With the team having an off-day on Monday, both Porcello and Rodriguez will be on regular rest. Given Price’s recent struggles, this may actually be a net positive for this series in terms of pitching matchups.

Of course, long-term would be a different story. We’ve talked for a few months now about how a healthy and effective Price near the top of this rotation would be a huge boost for this team. Porcello being better than most of us thought he’d be this year assuages those concerns just a bit, but the best version of this Red Sox team includes Price near his best.

Also, the obvious response to this from many fans on both sides of this rivalry will be that Price is just trying to avoid this Yankees lineup. To which I say: Nah.