BOSTON -- The mystery injury that David Price acquired during his start against the Angels on Saturday was revealed to be a cracked fingernail on the middle finger of his left hand.
The left-hander was removed from the outing after six innings, allowing six hits and three runs (two earned) on 103 pitches, but Price hinted after the game that he normally would have gone out for the seventh inning.
Red Sox manager John Farrell told the media on Sunday that he was forced to be forward thinking with his decision to end Price's night early.
"While I feel like he was very strong last night, it was a chance to hopefully stay ahead of something more severe taking place," Farrell said. "He's dealing with a little bit of a cracked nail on that middle finger, not the same finger that the blisters appeared on."
Price recently suffered from a blister that formed on the ring finger of his throwing hand during a start back on June 8. With the fingernail crack being of similar nature to the blister, Price understood his early exit even if his competitive nature disagreed.
"This is something that he's dealt with in the past and that he knows can lead to something that might affect him more," Farrell said. "He's a fierce competitor and he's of the mindset to complete and finish games. That's how he's wired and that's how he goes about his work in between starts to prepare for that physically."
Farrell reassured that Price's fingernail issue should not affect his next scheduled start Thursday against Minnesota.