When David Price went back and thought about it, it made perfect sense for Rangers right fielder Shin-Soo Choo to jump on his first pitch. Price had a 64 percent first-strike rate, six of the 15 homers Price had given up coming into Tuesday’s game came on the first pitch, and Choo already had tagged Price for a leadoff homer less than two weeks ago in Texas.

“If I’m the leadoff hitter to a game, and I know a fastball’s coming, I’m probably swinging too,’’ Price said.

Price started off the game by easing a 92-m.p.h. fastball belt-high on the outer-half of the plate, but Choo swatted it to straightaway center field.

Price grinned and shook his head.

“Fifteen days ago in Texas, it was a two-seam in,’’ Price said. “Today it was a four-seam away. I’ve got to get better.’’

He has given up at least one homer in each of his previous 10 outings.

Even though Price pushed through eight innings, giving up just three runs and piling up 10 strikeouts, the Sox fell, 7-2, and Price dropped to 8-6 on the season.

“Just not executing, not making pitches,’’ Price said of his struggles. “You know, putting us behind early before we even get a chance to hit, and that’s tough.’’

It took Price 46 pitches to get through the first two innings. After the homer by Choo, he gave up a single to Ian Desmond, a walk to Adrian Beltre and another single to Ryan Rua to put himself in a bases-loaded, no-out jam.

He limited the damage to an Elvis Adrus sacrifice fly that gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead.

“They came right out and obviously the first pitch of the ballgame Choo hits out of the ballpark and they got to him early,’’ said Red Sox manager John Farrell. “But after that, he settled into, I thought, a very strong eight innings of work. He became much more efficient, decent power to his fastball, swing and miss to his changeup. But a couple of runs early.’’

What bothered Price, though, was that after the Sox battled to tie the score — Jackie Bradley homered in the second and Rangers starter A.J. Griffin walked Xander Bogaerts with the bases loaded in the fourth — Price gave the lead back in the sixth when Rougned Odor laced an RBI-double to center.

“We battled back to tie that game in whatever inning it was, get the first guy out, then give up a single and then a [double], it stinks,’’ Price said. “Again, it’s just go out there and execute pitches and that’s what I didn’t do.

“I haven’t executed,’’ he continued. “That’s the bottom line. My stuff is fine, I’m fine. I’m just not executing.’’

After giving up a combined 10 runs and 21 hits in his past two starts, Price has reached a boiling point.

“I don’t know, I’m tired of this,’’ he said. “This is not me and I’ve got to get better. It’s definitely frustrating. I put a lot of time, I put a lot of effort, I put a lot of work into what I do. It’s gotten me to where I’m at right now. It’s not happening right now, I know that it will. And it’s going to feel that much better when it does.

Price has lasted at least eight innings six times this season. His 130 strikeouts are the third most by a Red Sox lefthander before the All-Star break. His six 10-strikeout games are the most in the American League.

None of it mattered to him.

“There’s nothing positive to point at right now,’’ Price said. “I threw 50 pitches through two, still went eight, we still lost. It doesn’t matter. I’ve got to be better. That’s why they brought me here and I’m not doing it right now.’’

Julian Benbow can be reached at jbenbow@globe.com.