McAdam: With the return of David Price, Red Sox have withstood first injury challenge of the season

When the Red Sox lost 40 percent of their starting rotation to injury earlier this month, it could have been catastrophic.

In an era where very few teams have enough pitching, most clubs wouldn't have been able to survive such an early-season challenge. And the Sox' depth had already taken a hit with the early-season elbow injury to Brian Johnson, who provided spot starts a year ago when the Sox needed reinforcements.

But on Monday, the Red Sox got one of their two sidelined starters -- David Price -- back and it was like he never left. The lefty gave the Sox five strong innings, during which he allowed just three hits and two unearned runs in a 12-2 pounding of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Price made exactly one bad pitch. With a runner on first and two out in the second, Price wanted a fastball inside to Toronto catcher Luke Maile, but instead, left it over the outer half and Maile hit it out to left for a two-run homer.

As it turned out, that was the last baserunner against Price, who recovered to set down the final 10 hitters he faced. He could have gone deeper after throwing just 67 pitches, but manager Alex Cora wisely decided not to push him too far in his return.

Best of all, there was no hint from Price that he had experienced soreness in his left elbow just a few weeks ago. His fastball hit 95 mph and he was able to use all of his pitches effectively. He didn't issue a single walk in his five innings.

After needing 39 pitches to get through the first two innings, Price was highly economical thereafter, needing just 28 pitches over the next three frames. While the Red Sox were adding to their lead seemingly every inning, Price responded by getting quick innings, enabling the Sox to get back to the dugout and continue to pile on against the Toronto pitching staff.

"I don't think it matters what time of the year it is or how long of a layoff or what the case is,'' Price told reporters. "I expect to go out there and execute pitches and get outs.''

Consider that, since Price joined Nathan Eovaldi on the Injured List, the Red Sox won 10 of their next 14 games. While most teams would be happy to tread water and play .500 ball while missing two key starting pitchers for a few weeks, the Red Sox kept winning at a .714 clip.

Some credit should go to Hector Velazquez, who, despite Saturday's stinker against the Houston Astros, has more often than not has given the Red Sox a chance in the games in which he's been used as a fill-in starter. Credit, too, to the Red Sox bullpen.

Over the last 22 games -- or about the time that Eovaldi went down with an elbow injury of his own -- Red Sox relievers have pitched to a 1.89 ERA, the lowest in the major leagues in that span. On the occasions that the starters have failed to go deep, the bullpen has more than picked up the slack.

But mostly, the Sox have survived with their offense, and Price's return served to highlight that point. While Price was pitching through the fifth, the offense was cranking out multi-run innings left and right.

In the last 19 games -- again, nearly parallel to the loss of Eovaldi, the first of two starters to go down -- the Sox have averaged close to seven runs per game. That sort of offensive support can cover for the occasional poor start and help make up for the odd bit of slippage by the bullpen.

"You see what we're capable of,'' said rookie Michael Chavis, who added a homer and single to the balanced attack. "I wouldn't even say we're, like, hot yet, but I think things are going the right way for sure. And being part of those (big) innings is definitely fun. You can see the vibe in the dugout and everyone's having a good time, but still focused on what we're trying to do.''

With Price back, the Red Sox rotation is nearly whole again. Eovaldi began a throwing program on the recent homestand and after a bullpen, set for Tuesday in Toronto, could be another session away from beginning a rehab assignment

It's likely that injuries will strike again over the final four months of the season. That's the nature of the game. But the Sox have nearly withstood the first onslaught -- which took out two starting pitchers -- and lived to tell about it.