FORT MYERS, Fla. — David Price was anxious to face the Minnesota Twins on Saturday and pitch in front of a crowd, even one that was spring training-sized.
Other than a controlled scrimmage earlier in the week, Price had not faced hitters since last season.
But with rain in the forecast, the Red Sox scrapped that idea just after 8 a.m. Price instead went to one of the bullpens at Fenway South and threw four simulated innings to Christian Vazquez with pitching coach Dana LeVangie standing at the plate and mimicking the stance of different hitters.
LeVangie must be quite an actor. He told Price at different points to imagine he was pitching to 6-foot-7-inch Yankees slugger Aaron Judge or his 5-11 teammate, Brett Gardner.
“I think they were all good,’’ said LeVangie of his impressions. “The biggest thing, he was happy the way he felt throwing his changeup, throwing his cutter, two-seam [fastball] on both sides [of the plate]. I thought it was a great day for him.’’
Reporters could only see Price from a distance through a screen. The lefthander threw 31 warm-up pitches then 58 pitches in what amounted to his second appearance of the spring.
“Today was by far my best day,’’ Price said. “Felt really strong all the way throughout.’’
Said LeVangie: “We made him sit down [between innings]. The biggest thing is sitting down, getting up and see how you recover. He did really well.’’
With LeVangie calling out different situations, Price threw fastballs, cutters, and changeups and was pleased with his command.
“You guys missed out, it was good,’’ Price said.
The change of plans proved to be a smart decision. The rain started after Price was finished pitching and the game against the Twins was delayed for 42 minutes. The game was then called in the third inning.
Price can still pitch in three games before the start of the season and he feels that will be enough to prepare. For Price, arm strength is what matters at this stage of spring training and he has demonstrated that.
It was a year ago when Price strained his elbow in a simulated game and landed on the disabled list for two months. The Sox have approached this spring training much more methodically and it seems to be working.
“To never have to hold anything back, even in my warm-up pitches the last inning, that’s a very good sign,’’ Price said. “I’m right on track.
“I feel like everything we’ve done to this point has worked really well. Today was a really, really good day.’’
Price is scheduled to pitch again on Thursday against Toronto. He will soon start adding a curveball to his mix of pitches.
Pomeranz on track
Drew Pomeranz, who strained his flexor tendon on March 2, feels fine now and is scheduled to throw two innings of live batting practice either Wednesday or Thursday.
Pomeranz has time to pitch two or three games before the start of the season. He feels that would be enough to be part of the Opening Day rotation.
“If I can build up to 70-75 pitches, I’ll be fine,’’ Pomeranz said.
Pomeranz was on the disabled list to start last season but was activated on April 10 and started the seventh game of the season. A similar scenario could play out this year.
Return trip for Martinez
Pedro Martinez returned to camp and was in uniform working with the pitchers. When practice ended, Martinez signed autographs for about 20 fans . . . Hector Velazquez is scheduled to start on Monday against Toronto in Dunedin . . . Tzu-Wei Lin (66 innings), Ivan De Jesus Jr. (65), Rusney Castillo (60), Aneury Tavarez (60), and Steve Selsky (59) have played the most defensively so far. Sam Travis leads the way with 14 games. Castillo, DeJesus, Lin, Selsky, and Tavarez have played in 13. All six of those players are likely to open the season with Triple A Pawtucket.
Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com.
