BOSTON — Red Sox Manager Alex Cora is sticking with David Price, saying Wednesday the left-hander will start Game 2 of the AL Championship Series against Houston despite an unprecedented history of playoff struggles.

Speaking on MLB Network radio a day after the Red Sox eliminated the Yankees from the AL Division Series, Cora said he plans to use Chris Sale in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series that begins at Fenway Park on Saturday night. The first-year manager said Price, the loser in Boston’s only loss in the ALDS, is still in line to start Game 2.

“We trust him,” Cora said last week after Price allowed three runs and got just five outs in a 6-2 loss in Game 2. “He bounced back before. We’ll talk to him and make a few adjustments and we’ll go from there.”

Nathan Eovaldi and 2016 AL Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello are expected to start Games 3 and 4, after picking up wins in the same roles against the Yankees. The current Red Sox staff entered the series with a 0-19 postseason record as starters, and now everyone but Price has picked up a win.

Price has won two games in relief.

In all, Price is 0-9 as a starter in the postseason and his team has lost all 10 of his career playoff starts, the longest such skid in postseason history. The latest was a five-out cameo in Game 2 against the Yankees in which he gave up homers to Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez.

But Cora expressed confidence in Price afterward, claiming that Astros ace Justin Verlander and Red Sox Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez also struggled in the playoffs early in their careers. He also noted that Price pitched well out of the bullpen last year, making two appearances with 62/3 innings of scoreless relief against Houston.

Verlander had a 5.57 ERA through his first eight playoff starts, but he won three of them; Martinez struggled in 2003 and early in the 2004 postseason but had already posted a win in his playoff debut in 1998 and threw 18 shutout innings over three appearances in 1999.

CHRIS SALE’S first career postseason start last October against the Astros was a pure disaster. As he looks forward to facing Houston again in Game 1 of the ALCS on Saturday, his advice to himself is pretty simple.

“Don’t suck,” Sale said. “Seriously, man. It was a very humbling experience.”

Sale gave up seven earned runs on nine hits in Game 1 of last year’s ALDS as the Sox fell 8-2 in Houston.

HOUSTON ASTROS shortstop Carlos Correa says he is in pain. Every swing and miss hurts his aching back, and on the bad days it can even be uncomfortable to walk.

Correa often puts on a brave face but told The Associated Press he is hurting.

Correa returned from a six-week stint on the disabled list on Aug. 10 and declared that he was better. But he has struggled to regain his top form. He hit just .180 in the second half of the season and managed a single hit in an ALDS.

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