He was on his way to his first complete game of the season.
Or so he thought.
The next thing he knew, he was on his way to the dugout.
With a 3-1 lead over Toronto in the top of the ninth inning, Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon pulled lefty David Price with two outs and no one on base.
The ace was upset as he headed off the field. The crowd booed the skipper’s call.
In stepped Kyle Farnsworth, who picked up his sixth save of the season. He gave up a single to Yunel Escobar before getting Adam Lind to ground to first base for the 27th out.
“I wanted to finish it,” Price said. “That‘s for sure, but you know Farnsy did a great job finishing it out. He‘s done that a couple of times for me… I was mad. I was, absolutely, but Farnsy did a great job.”
Coming into the ninth inning, Price had a shutout on the line. The Blue Jays never seemed threatening at the plate.
Their only run came that frame after John McDonald reached second base on a throwing error by shortstop Sean Rodriguez. Then Rajai Davis advanced him to third on a fly out to right field. Corey Patterson followed with an RBI groundout to second.
Even when the Blue Jays skirted away with his shutout on an unearned run, Price seemed in control.
But then Maddon came out of the dugout.
This article appears in May 5-11, 2011.
