NEW YORK — Fans tossed items into the ESPN broadcast booth at Yankee Stadium in the seventh inning on Sunday, hoping to get an autograph from Alex Rodriguez.
A pinstriped pariah only two years ago, Rodriguez is now a trusted team adviser and seemingly on more television shows than Ryan Seacrest. His path to redemption was swift and direct.
So anything is possible for David Price when it comes to proving himself to Red Sox fans. But right now, it seems impossible.
Price threw away two months of good work on Sunday, giving up eight runs before being lifted in the fourth inning as the Yankees slammed the Sox, 11-1.
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Price sarcastically joked last week that he could skip this start, subtly mocking those who believe he ducked a game against the Yankees earlier this season by feigning injury.
It wasn’t so funny when he allowed nine hits, a shocking five of them home runs, in 3⅓ innings.
“I’ve never given up five home runs in any start in my career,” Price said. “I’m going to move forward. I’m not going to let a bad start define my season. I’m going to keep on pushing forward and I’ll be ready to go in five days.”
In all, the Yankees hit six home runs, three by Aaron Hicks, in their 16-hit attack.
Luis Severino and three relievers held the Sox to four hits.
The 56-29 Red Sox lost two of three against the 54-27 Yankees and fell back into a virtual tie for first place in the American League East.
It was not a particularly compelling series. The Yankees won the first game, 8-1; the Sox beat the Yankees, 11-0, on Saturday and then came another rout on Sunday.
The Yankees have a 5-4 edge in the season series. The teams meet again at Fenway Park Aug. 2-5. For now, the Sox head to Washington and a Monday night game against Max Scherzer.
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For Price, it was latest in string of unrelentingly poor performances against the Yankees since he joined the Red Sox. He is 2-6 with an 8.43 ERA and 1.83 WHIP in nine starts against the Yankees and has allowed 13 home runs in 47 innings.
Price is 0-5 with a 10.44 ERA in five starts at Yankee Stadium with the Sox with 10 home runs over 25 innings.
“I’m sure there’s a lot of things. To pinpoint one of them, that’s kind of tough,” Price said.
Price is one of five Red Sox pitchers to allow five or more home runs in a game, the first since Clay Buchholz on April 20, 2012 against the Yankees at Fenway.
Only Price and Dennis Eckersley have allowed five home runs against the Yankees in New York while pitching for the Sox. Eckersley did it on July 1, 1979.
It gets worse. Price has faced the Yankees twice this season and somehow allowed 12 runs on 12 hits — six of them home runs — in 4⅓ innings.
Price was asked if he was perhaps tipping pitches against the Yankees. He declined to use that as an excuse.
“It would be easy to say ‘yes’ because they had five homers and eight runs,” he said. “But I really don’t know right now. I can’t give you an honest answer about that. I’ll go back [Monday] and I’ll look at it.”
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The Red Sox have 10 more games spread over three series against the Yankees this season. Manager Alex Cora said he has not lost faith in the idea of using Price against the Yankees.
“Tonight was one of those that he wasn’t at his best and they were at their best,” Cora said. “I go by this year, man.”
Price (9-6) started his outing by retiring Hicks on a groundball to third base. The next four hitters connected with varying degrees of ferocity as the Yankees took a 4-0 lead and the sellout crowd of 46,794 shook the Stadium.
Aaron Judge started it with a home run to center field that settled into the net above Monument Park. Giancarlo Stanton followed with a 119.8-m.p.h. single into left field.
Didi Gregorius, 13 of 30 against Price in his career, doubled to right center. Rookie Gleyber Torres, facing Price for the first time, followed with a home run to right field.
Hicks belted a two-run homer to right field in the second inning.
It became embarrassing for Price in the fourth inning when rookie third-string catcher Kyle Higashioka homered to left field for his first major league hit. He had been 0 for 22 dating to 2017.
When Hicks homered again, Cora finally came to the mound and that was it.
“They put good swings on what I felt like were pretty good pitches,” Price said. “Whenever you’re facing a team and a lineup like that, you’ve got to make that really good pitch.”
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The five home runs were the most Price has allowed in 286 major league games. The eight earned runs matched a career worst and his ERA climbed from 3.66 to 4.28.
Price pitched as well as he ever has for the Red Sox in recent weeks, going 8-1 with a 2.72 ERA in his previous nine starts.
As Price was tormented, Severino (13-2) worked 6⅔ innings and allowed two hits with six strikeouts.
Severino was 2-5 with a 4.61 ERA in 10 career appearances against the Sox. But he had the ability to make adjustments against an opponent he needed to pitch well against.
Price said he moved past his wretched start before the game was finished.
“I’m looking forward to Kansas City [next weekend] and getting back out there and helping us win,” he said. “Just turn the page. As unfortunate as it is, I’ve had starts like this in my career. I’ve had starts like this this year. I can handle it.”
Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeteAbe.