Bedard: Nathan Eovaldi deftly fills void left by David Price's high-priced flop

Well, that was the best $731,204 the Red Sox have spent in some time.

Two days after watching David Price, their Thirty-plus Million Dollar Man, need to be rescued after less than two innings at home in an eventual 6-2 Game 2 loss to the Yankees, the Red Sox sent one of their trade deadline additions, journeyman Nathan Eovaldi, to the mound at Yankee Stadium.

Talk about pressure. The Red Sox had just been outscored 10-2 since the third inning of Game 1. The Yankees were undefeated in their last seven home playoff games. Eovaldi was opposed by the Yankees' ace, Luis Severino. And the Red Sox could ill-afford to drop another game to New York with the prospect of a do-or-die Game 4 on Tuesday night.

After the Red Sox went quietly in the top of the first inning, Eovaldi took the mound against the Yankees and a raucous crowd and dispatched New York in order in 12 pitches.

That was just a harbinger of things to come, as Eovaldi went seven strong innings, allowing just five hits and one run, while throwing 97 pitches (72 strikes).

Pressure? What pressure?

"One thing with him, it really doesn't matter," Alex Cora said. "Like this stage, you guys saw it. It was unbelievable before the game and the first few innings, and he was just being Nate. ... Pitching in Tampa or pitching in Fenway or pitching in Yankee Stadium, he knows his stuff is good, and it's just about executing, throwing strikes, and letting the defense do the job. ... We trust the guy. His stuff is that good."

Heading into the trade deadline, everyone knew the Red Sox needed bullpen help, and they still do judging by Game 1. But as the relievers they eyed kept getting picked off by other clubs, the Red Sox decided — partially because they were dealing with injuries at the time to starters Steven Wright and Eduardo Rodriguez — to make a deal for Eovaldi about a week before the deadline.

"We’ve had some starting pitching injuries; he gives us depth in that regard," Dave Dombrowski said at the time. "He also can be a guy that can slip into the bullpen as time goes on. He’s been a very effective pitcher. Also, he’s been part of a pennant race in the AL East, he’s pitched in New York. There’s a lot of things we like about him. ... This is a big need for us. It gives us an extra arm that we really like.”

The Red Sox may not have quite envisioned a night like Monday playing out the way it did, but score one for Dombrowski. Eovaldi had 17 swings and misses (eight on his 15 devastating sliders) in Game 3, and he finished this season with an 0.39 ERA against the Yankees in 23 innings with the Red Sox.  He hit 101 mph and his 88th pitch of the night registered 100 mph.

"It was outstanding, efficient, great stuff from the get-go, using the fastball in different spots and mixing up breaking balls and his splitter," said Cora. "He's been great against them the whole season, and that was good to see tonight."

"He's obviously been tough on us all year, " said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. "Once he got the lead, he just continued to pound the strike zone. The cutter was a factor. He mixed in some breaking balls and some splits but was able to locate and elevate his four-seam fastball. It seemed like he mixed in some two-seamers as well, which isn't something he does a lot of. It seemed like that anyway from the side. But he once again was an issue for us."

Eovaldi's teammates knew what kind of performance they were witnessing.

"Man, he was huge putting all those zeros," said Mookie Betts. "They struggled to put together an inning and that's huge. We came out and swing the bat well and gave him some confidence, but I don't think he really needed it."

Said J.D. Martinez: "Lights out. Lights out,. Honestly, that's the performance that we needed coming in here, and he stepped up and he did it. ... He's been pretty tough on (the Yankees). When the guy's throwing 100 with the kind of movement he's getting on pitches, it's not fun to hit."

After recovering from his second Tommy John surgery, Eovaldi made his first start in nearly two years on May 25 for the Rays. His last start before that surgery was on Aug. 10, 2016 — for the Yankees.

"It was a special moment for me," Eovaldi said. "I don't think it's really quite settled in yet. To be able to pitch the way I did and then for us to score as many runs as we did, it was a big game for us tonight.

"I've always enjoyed pitching here. I feel like that's just baseball. Having the crowds, it's a fun baseball atmosphere. When you come here, you know the crowd's going to be against you. I try to turn it around and try to keep them out of it as much as possible. I know that, maybe if I give up a free base or give up a couple hits in a row, the crowd's going to get back into it, and I don't want that to happen to get those guys going over on the other side. Try to make it a game within itself, and try and get the guys out as fast as possible and keep the crowd out of the game."

Mission accomplished. On a budget too.