Red Sox will count on David Price and his postseason misery to pitch them into World Series

HOUSTON — After an 8-6 win in a tense Game 4 on Wednesday, the Boston Red Sox hold a 3-1 advantage over the Astros in the American League Championship Series and can clinch a World Series berth as soon as Thursday if they win in Game 5.

There’s only one issue: They’ll need someone to pitch.

Game 1 starter Chris Sale will not be ready for action as he recovers from a stomach ailment that landed him in the hospital for Game 2 of the series.

After Game 4 starter Rick Porcello lasted only four innings, manager Alex Cora needed five relievers to get through the ninth. Four of them -- Matt Barnes, Ryan Brasier, Joe Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez -- also pitched in Tuesday night’s game. The fifth, closer Craig Kimbrel, threw two gut-wrenching innings Wednesday to earn the first six-out save of his career.

Despite the growing popularity of the "bullpen game,” it doesn’t seem to make sense for the Red Sox on Thursday.

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So Cora will go with David Price in Game 5. The same David Price he had warming up in the bullpen as early as the eighth inning on Wednesday. The very same David Price of the much-maligned 5.42 lifetime ERA in the postseason, the guy whose 4 ⅔-inning, four-run performance in Game 2 represented a step forward from recent prior playoff starts. And he’ll be called upon to start on three days’ rest for only the second time in his career and the first time in over a decade.

"We’re good with him,” Cora said after Wednesday’s win. “He’s prepared. He understands what’s going on. He understands that Chris can’t go tomorrow, and he’s ready to take the ball.”

Price said he had no concerns that the short rest or the Wednesday night bullpen session would limit him on Thursday.

"I’ll be alright,” he said. “I think it'll just make me a little more sharp for tomorrow. I might have found a new thing to do the day before I pitch.

“To have that opportunity to punch our ticket to the World Series, that's very cool. That is neat.”

Price’s draw is a tough one, and not just because of the unusual schedule and the Astros’ potent offense. He’ll square off against fully rested AL Cy Young favorite Justin Verlander.

But none of the Red Sox seem eager to back down from a challenge with the World Series so immediately attainable. Kimbrel threw 35 pitches on Wednesday, more than he had in any appearance in 2018, but said he’d be happy to throw two more innings Thursday if he’s asked.

“We've got a chance to go to the World Series,” he said. “We'll do what we have to do.”

Follow Berg on Twitter @OGTedBerg