BOSTON — Justin Verlander was asked Friday about former teammate David Price’s inability to win a game as a starter in the postseason.“Great teammate. Really enjoyed my time with David http://www.marinersfanproshop.com/authentic-edgar-martinez-jersey ,” Verlander said of when they were together in Detroit. “Him and I still talk all the time, stay in touch. And, yeah, I do find that odd (he’s winless as a starter in postseason).“Honestly, I hope the trend continues for the short term now.”Article continues below ...If it continues Sunday, the Astros, 7-2 winners in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series on Saturday night, would take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven heading home for three games.“The trend” is historic.Price, who faces Gerrit Cole in the second game of the ALCS on Sunday night, is 0-9 with a 6.03 ERA in 10 postseason starts. This past week against the New York Yankees, he became the first pitcher in MLB history with at least 10 postseason starts and zero victories. His teams are 0-10 in those 10 games and the ERA is the third worst among pitchers with 10 starts.He got the ultimate vote of confidence when manager Alex Cora, with folks screaming the left-hander should go to the bullpen – where he has had success — tabbed him to start in Game 2.“It’s good. I did expect to make more starts for us in this year’s playoffs,” Price said before Game 1. “But Alex told me before we even got off the field that night.“So for him to tell me before we even took our jerseys off to put on our postseason shirts that we get when we win http://www.marinersfanproshop.com/authentic-edgar-martinez-jersey , that was special.”The Astros, who posted their 59th road win of the season behind Verlander (2-0 in this postseason), now turn to Cole, who hasn’t lost in nine starts (6-0) since Aug. 10. He beat the Cleveland Indians in Game 2 of the ALDS, going seven innings and yielding three hits and one run.Houston got six innings out of Verlander and put the game away on ninth-inning home runs by Josh Reddick and Yuli Gurriel.“This team finds a way in big moments to show up,” said Verlander, whose team is 4-0 in the postseason by a combined score of 28-8.Houston’s George Springer, who had a two-run single in the first inning and has tied Lance Berkman’s club record with a 10-game postseason hitting streak: “This is a clubhouse that believes in every guy. Doesn’t matter who gets the job done. Pass the torch on to the next guy.”Red Sox pitchers walked 10 — a franchise record for a nine-inning postseason game — and hit three in their second loss, both at home, of this postseason. Chris Sale didn’t have his command and was gone after four innings despite allowing just one hit and two runs.An Eduardo Nunez error led to an unearned run and a loss for reliever Joe Kelly.Cora, who was ejected from Game 1 for arguing a strike 3 call on Andrew Benintendi, reaffirmed Price as his Game 2 starter after the game — with a simple “Yes.”Price, who lost Game 2 to the Yankees Jay Buhner Jersey , lasting just 1 2/3 innings, is 6-2 with a 2.69 ERA in 14 games (10 starts) lifetime against the Astros, including strong relief work in last year’s LDS.Cole, who went 15-5 with a 2.88 ERA in the regular season, is 2-1 with a 4.32 ERA lifetime in four starts against the Red Sox — 0-1 with a 5.73 in two starts at Fenway Park.Alex Bregman is 3-for-7 (.429) with a home run, backup catcher Brian McCann 11-for-32 (.344) with three homers and Jose Altuve 8-for-25 (.320) against Price. But Reddick is 0-for-11, Jake Marisnick 1-for-12 (.083), Carlos Correa 2-for-10 (.200) and Springer 5-for-24 (.208) with a homer.Mookie Betts, who is just 4-for-20 this postseason, is 5-for-8 (.625) and J.D. Martinez 3-for-10 (.300) with a homer against Cole. But Ian Kinsler is 2-for-25 (.080), Xander Bogaerts and Mitch Moreland are both 1-for-11 (.091), and Jackie Bradley Jr. 2-for-9 (.222) against the right-hander. SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Chris Woodward thinks long-term and appreciates the everyday grind of the game Denard Span Jersey , having been a utility infielder over a dozen seasons and serving as a third base coach in the World Series each of the past two years.Still, Woodward allowed himself to consider where he had come from to being a first-time manager when the Texas Rangers pitchers and catchers held their first workout of spring training Wednesday.“There’s something special about it. To think, just kind of go back to my career, and I kind of mentioned that to the guys today,” Woodward said. “When you’ve been through so much as a player and then as a coach, just the ups and downs, you kind of start to look back and think about, ‘Man, this thing started when I was 18, could I be standing at this moment.’ … I’m going to enjoy it.”Woodward’s daily spring training commute from his home in Chandler, Arizona, has gotten longer this spring — from about 40 minutes each way to a solid hour, extra time he uses to listen to more documentaries.The 42-year-old Woodward has gone from being the third base coach for the two-time defending National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers to managing a Rangers team with a bunch of 20-something position players and a revamped rotation that is coming off consecutive losing seasons for the first time in a decade. But he hasn’t changed his expectations.“We’re building a championship mentality. Like that’s first and foremost. He didn’t hire me to finish third http://www.marinersfanproshop.com/authentic-edgar-martinez-jersey ,” Woodward said, referring to general manager Jon Daniels standing beside him. “It’s lofty expectation, but you have to start that belief right now. … We’ve got to give them the process, define it for them, help them understand it, and provide the atmosphere.”Before opening camp, the Rangers had their most comprehensive organization meeting in a dozen years, with about 190 people gathering together in a resort ballroom Monday. That is about three times as many people as typically attend their meeting at the start of spring training.“Everybody in baseball operations,” Daniels said. “Stood up at the front of the room, and you realize the size of the operations. It’s large.”There were about 55 people hired in the past 12 months among the group, including the manager who replaced Jeff Banister after last season.“A variety of things. I think probably the biggest was to introduce some of the new people that are on board, and some of the things, the initiatives that we’re focused on Ben Gamel Jersey , and just communication throughout the organization,” Daniels said. “It was a little bit of like looking to pull back the curtain and try to be as transparent as we can on what we’re doing, why we’re doing it.”When there was a show of hands from the people that attended the last full organization meeting in January 2007, Daniels said about 30 people had also been at that one before Texas won consecutive AL pennants in 2010 and 2011.Rangers pitchers opened spring training Wednesday doing long toss and some fielding drills without any bullpen sessions. Their day on the field got started later than usual, and that is likely to be the case until they begin to play spring training games.“Let these guys get their rest,” said Woodward, who played for five big league teams and coached for two others. “On teams that I played on in the past, and coached on, you try to look like you’re the best team out there because you’re out there the longest. Let’s be the most efficient in what we do, work the best while we’re doing it so we don’t have to be there five hours a day.”