Will David Price pitch a game this season as impressive as Brian Johnson’s gem Saturday?

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher David Price rests on the dugout rail during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners. AP

By Chad Finn

May 28, 2017

2 minutes to read

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Brian Johnson should still be in the big leagues and David Price should be rehabbing in Pawtucket for at least another start. If you disagree, answer this: Will Price have a start this season as good as Johnson’s Saturday? No chance. – Charlie L.

I’m with you Charlie – it does feel like they’re rushing Price, or perhaps Price is rushing himself. I don’t like the sense I get from a lot of Sox fans and media that they’re almost hoping he fails, but this certainly doesn’t seem like the best way for him to succeed. They need him, even last year’s version, and they can afford to be a little more patient now that they’re playing well and Johnson is channeling 1981 Bob Ojeda.

To answer the question, though, it’s extremely unlikely that Price has a game like Johnson’s Saturday masterpiece even if he returns to his past Cy Young candidate form. That’s just how brilliant Johnson’s performance was.

Consider: Johnson’s complete-game, five-hit, eight-K gem had a Game Score of 85. (Here’s an explanation for the Bill James-devised stat.)

Price’s best Game Score last year was 84, for an 8-inning, 2-hit, 8-K performance against the Rays on August 22.

The last time Price had a Game Score that high was on August 21, 2014, when, as a Tiger, he allowed a single hit over eight innings in a 1-0 loss to the Rays. His GS was 87.

So you could say Brian Johnson has already pitched the best game we could have expected out of David Price this season.

But what do you guys think? Will Price thrive once he shakes the rust off? Or is bringing him back now a mistake? Let me hear it in the comments.