David Price: I need to ‘reinvent myself’ against the Yankees

David Price was once again shelled in an outing against the New York Yankees on Sunday night, and the latest performance was so bad he didn’t even bother trying to come up with excuses.

Price allowed eight earned runs and gave up five home runs in 3 1/3 innings in his latest loss to New York. Since he joined the Red Sox, the left-hander is now 2-6 with an 8.43 ERA in nine starts against the Yankees. He admitted he needs to somehow change his approach when facing Boston’s biggest rival.

“I’m sure there’s a lot of things [to explain the Yankees’ recent success],” Price said, per Matt Dolloff of 985TheSportsHub.com. “To pinpoint one of them, that’s kind of tough. Just execution in those big spots, that’s something I’ve got to do a better job of.

“I’ve faced the Yankees many times. It’s time to go back to the drawing board and kind of reinvent myself against these guys.”

Back in April, Price was removed from a start against the Yankees after allowing four earned runs in one inning. The weather was cold that night, and he later revealed he was dealing with numbness in his pitching hand. In May, he was scratched from his scheduled start against New York after the hand issue returned. He said that was not a factor on Sunday.

“I’m not going to let a bad start define my season,” Price said. “I’m going to keep on pushing forward and be ready to go in five days. After about 10 outs, when I came out of the game after my fifth homer, I had moved on past this. I’m looking forward to Kansas City and getting back out there and helping us win.”

Price’s relationship with the media in Boston is about as bad as it gets, and yet another horrific outing against the Yankees will only increase the tension. He recently had a very awkward exchange with a reporter who asked him about facing New York, and it would not be a surprise if there are more to come.

The Red Sox and Yankees are the two best teams in baseball, and they could be neck-and-neck all season long. If Price can’t figure out how to pitch at Yankee Stadium, that could be the difference between Boston winning and losing the AL East.