Tampa Bay Rays ace David Price said that he wasn't bothered by a tirade from Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz on Friday night, however the left-hander did say he was upset over the fact that Ortiz compared baseball to war.
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"He was mad, so I get it," Price said of Ortiz over the weekend, according to ESPN. "We all say stupid stuff when we're mad. [I have] been there. I'm sure he probably wishes he wouldn't have said some of the things he said. You can't relate the game that we play to a war."
Price drilled Ortiz with a 94 mph fastball in Friday's game, outraging the designated hitter, in a game that eventually included a benches clearing altercation between the two American League East rivals in the sixth inning. Price responded to Ortiz's postgame comments by saying he shouldn't compare a game to war.
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"Kellen Winslow got a lot of crap for saying he was a soldier. You're not a soldier. This is not war. We have troops fighting for us that are in a war. It's not a good comparison," he told ESPN.
Ortiz tagged Price for two homers in last year's ALDS as the Red Sox ultimately marched on to their third World Series in 10 years, and after being beaned by him he said he had lost all respect for his counterpart.
"I mean, it's a war," Ortiz, who is hitting .262 this season with 12 homers and 31 RBIs, said via ESPN. "It's on. Next time he hits me, he better bring the gloves. I have no respect for him no more."
Price countered Ortiz's comments as the series continued into the weekend.
"For as many people as I quote-unquote 'lost respect from,' I gained respect from a lot more people," Price said per ESPN. "And I know that's a fact."
Price also hit Mike Carp with a pitch in the game, which the Red Sox (27-29) eventually won in walk-off fashion 3-2 in 10 innings. Boston went on to sweep the series and have won seven straight games, closing the series out with a 4-0 win Sunday at Fenway Park.
Price had some harsh things to say about the way Ortiz plays the game.
"Sometimes, the way [Ortiz] acts out there, he kind of looks like he's bigger than the game," Price told ESPN. "That's not the way it is, not the way it goes. ... Nobody's bigger than the game of baseball. You ask pitchers from 10, 15, 20 years ago -- that's normal, part of the game."
The Rays fell to 23-34 on the year and Price (4-4, 4.27 ERA) suffered a no-decision Friday night.
The Rays and Red Sox cross paths again on July 25 at Tropicana Field.
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