Game #12 Preview: Blue Jays Look To Crush David Price

The popcorn vendor who parks daily at Front and John Sts. recently lost his most reliable customer. Almost every afternoon at 2:30 pm, often wearing shoes, David Price would wander from his neighbourhood condo to consume his daily snack. Just kidding.

There is no use ripping apart an ex-player who seems like a genuinely good person. David Price is an excellent pitcher, and he is not the only person in this world who would leave an organization for $217 million dollars. It was a joy to watch him down the stretch last season, and he helped the Blue Jays make the playoffs for the first time since 1993. 

With that being said, I hope the Blue Jays crush everything David Price throws tonight. Price is left-handed, and the Blue Jays will be throwing a ton of right-handed hitters out there to hit it over the Green Monster in left field. Ezequiel Carrera is the only left-handed hitter in today's lineup:

David Price can effectively retire both lefties and righties, but right-hitters do tend to have more success against him. As a result, Chris Colabello and Darwin Barney will draw into today's lineup and will look to do some damage. Michael Saunders will receive the day off against a tough lefty, which makes me wonder why the Jays utilize a left-handed hitting 4th outfielder. 

Price's repertoire includes three types of fastballs: a four-seam, two-seam, and cutter. In addition he will utilize a changeup and curveball, which are both above-average pitches. While he averaged 94 mph on his fastball last season, his velocity is down to 91.4 mph over his first two starts. 

Here's how often Price threw each pitch in 2015:

Last season, Price generated the 2nd highest swinging-strike percentage among pitchers with 100 innings pitched. He also placed 2nd in zone %, which showcases his ability to find the strike zone. When Price does throw a pitch out of the zone, hitters chased at a very high rate. All in all, Price is an extremely good pitcher who will be a great test for this Blue Jays lineup.

With that being said, the heart of the Blue Jays lineup typically eats left-handed pitching for breakfast. Let's hope that Russell Martin and Chris Colabello finally get going today to provide some secondary offence to this roster. Marco Estrada pitched seven shutout innings in his first start of the season against this Red Sox team, but Boston will get to see him for the second time in a week. 

Here's hoping the Jays can do some damage against their former ace. Hope to see everyone in the Game Thread for the 4:05pm start.