David Price possible to skip start due to recurrence of elbow ailment

— -- Boston Red Sox left-hander David Price underwent an MRI on his pitching elbow Thursday and could miss his scheduled Friday start, sources told ESPN's Buster Olney.

Price is experiencing similar tightness in his elbow to what he felt in spring training, which sidelined him for the first two months of the season, a source told ESPN's Scott Lauber.

The Boston Globe first reported that Price could miss Friday's start.

The Red Sox, who hold a half-game lead over the New York Yankees in the American League East, are returning to Fenway Park to start a three-game series against the red-hot Kansas City Royals.

Since his return to the mound, Price has sparred with the media, including a much-publicized incident in which he lashed out at Hall of Fame pitcher and current TV analyst Dennis Eckersley on the team plane June 29.

Price mocked Eckersley and cursed at him multiple times during the confrontation, according to a report published Sunday by The Boston Globe that provided previously unreported details about the altercation.

The pitcher was reported to be annoyed at a comment made by Eckersley during the NESN broadcast of Boston's game against Minnesota earlier that day, when Eckersley said "Yuck" shortly after NESN showed Eduardo Rodriguez's subpar pitching statistics from a rehab outing with Double-A Portland.

Price is 5-3 with a 3.82 ERA in 11 starts since returning May 29 from the elbow issue that cropped up in spring training.