ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- By virtue of his salary and status, there will be times when expectations for David Price are so high that they are impossible to satisfy.

This was not one of those times.

All the Boston Red Sox asked of their ace lefty here Wednesday was to subdue the Tampa Bay Rays in the rubber game of a three-game series. That's hardly an unreasonable request for a pitcher of Price's caliber against an injury-depleted lineup that represents one of the lowest-scoring offenses in the American League, even when healthy.

Yet there was Price, trudging off the mound after allowing three runs in the third inning. He gave up six hits, four for extra bases, to the Rays' first 15 batters and dropped the Sox down an early hole. That he struck out 10 batters was little more than eyewash in a 4-0 loss that capped a mostly miserable 2-4 road trip and a confidence-shaking 10-16 June.

Price's self-evaluation: "Bad. Again." Red Sox manager John Farrell called it "disappointing." Fans back in New England likely used more colorful language. Whatever your adjective of choice, let's agree that the Sox needed more from whichever starter took the mound at Tropicana Field, much more from the one whom they're paying $30 million this season and $217 million over the next seven.

Here's the thing: Price knows it, too. He was still dressed in full uniform, seated and facing his locker, when reporters entered the clubhouse more than 10 minutes after the final out had been recorded, then stood up and pointed the finger squarely at himself.

"I'm just putting us behind the eight ball early on in games," Price said. "I'm not setting the tone the way that I need to. It's tough. I'm so much better than this. I've just got to get better. It's crushing me right now, but I'll get there."

Indeed, this was hardly an isolated start for Price. He has allowed at least four earned runs in six of 17 starts. Last season, he gave up four or more earned runs in only five of his 32 starts with the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays. His ERA is 4.74, 33rd among 40 pitchers who qualified for the AL ERA title entering Wednesday night's games.

Early in the season, when Price notched a 6.75 ERA through seven starts, the problem was mechanical. With help from second baseman Dustin Pedroia, Price identified a flaw in his delivery that left his legs and arms out of sync. After making the correction, he reeled off eight consecutive starts in which he posted a 2.47 ERA, a stretch that was much better yet somehow not quite dominant enough to live up to those lofty expectations.

Now, the problem seems to be location and perhaps even quality of off-speed stuff. Price got rocked last Friday night in Texas, allowing six runs on 12 hits in only 2 1/3 innings, statistically the third-worst start of his career. Although he exhibited plenty of power on his fastball against the Rays, he called his changeup "the worst I've had in probably a month" and labeled his curveball "awful."

Frustrating, isn't it?

"Absolutely. It's unacceptable," Price said, echoing comments he made to ESPN earlier in the week when asked to assess his season. "I don't care if I'm a rookie. It's unacceptable."

Price's past two starts bookended a six-game trip in which Red Sox starters gave up 32 earned runs in 49 1/3 innings. Farrell called a closed-door team meeting after Monday night's loss here to stress the need for the rotation to perform better, and right-hander Rick Porcello answered the call Tuesday night, giving up one run in six innings.

If only Price had done what he was supposed to against a Rays lineup that was absent Corey Dickerson, tough-on-lefties Steve Pearce and Steven Souza Jr., Logan Morrison and newly acquired Oswaldo Arcia, order might have been restored, if only for a few days. Instead, he gave up a solo homer to Brandon Guyer in the second inning -- the 15th homer allowed by Price this season -- and RBI doubles to Evan Longoria and Guyer in the third.

And the Red Sox limped home, a season-high five games behind the division-leading Baltimore Orioles in the AL East.

"I'll take the blame. I haven't set the tone," Price said. "I haven't pitched deep enough into baseball games, I've given up too many runs, given up homers. It's tough."

Said Farrell: "He throws a lot of strikes. He's around the plate. You can look at the home run totals and say they're high, but to me, it's not uncommon for a guy that's going to throw as many strikes as he does. Could he be a little more sparing to throw some balls off the plate just to keep some guys honest? That's an adjustment that's a definite possibility. He's got swing-and-miss stuff, and yet there are times where guys will run into a pitch on the plate."

Too many times.

"I want to go out there and get 27 outs. That's what I did for a long time, the last few years of my career, pitching extremely deep into baseball games and putting up a lot of zeroes," Price said. "That's not the way it's going right now. It's nowhere near good enough, and I get that. I've got to get better. I know that I will."

Red Sox fans are waiting, their patience wearing thin.