Tanner Houck was selected by the Red Sox as a first-round pick out of Missouri in 2017. Throughout his time in Boston, he’s served as a starter, a reliever, an All-Star, and a crucial component in a pitching staff that has been dogged by more questions than answers. On Monday night in Tampa, Houck made the wrong kind of history.
In a 16-1 loss to the Rays at Steinbrenner Field, Houck gave up 12 runsâ11 of them earnedâover just 2â innings. No Red Sox pitcher in the franchiseâs 124-year history has ever allowed that many earned runs in so few innings.
It was the worst performance by a Red Sox starting pitcher since Doug Bird allowed 11 earned runs in 2 2/3 innings against the Chicago White Sox in May of 1983.
âNot good. Come back tomorrow and figure it out,â Houck told reporters after the game.
Houck struck out just one of the 20 batters he faced. The third inning alone saw 14 Rays come to the plate. Nine of them scored. Houck’s troubles can be traced back to a rough spring training, where he allowed 17 earned runs in 13â innings. He surrendered 10 runs on 12 hits in 3 2/3 innings in his final spring training start â against the same Rays.
Since last yearâs All-Star break, the twenty-eight-year-old Houck has gone 1-5 with a 5.38 ERA over 15 starts.
âIf you look at the balls they hit hard, they were in the middle of the plate,” said manager Alex Cora postgame. “There were of course some balls that went by, we didnât play good defense behind him. Good approach and they put some good swings on him.â
After spending the winter tacitly declaring their rebuild over, the Red Sox entered the season preaching renewal, readiness, and resolve. That spirit is unraveling fast after an 8-10 start and a 16-1 meltdown that was effectively over in the third inning.
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