Houcktober: Red Sox’ Tanner Houck was dominant against Rays
The Red Sox needed their bullpen to come up big during Game 2 of the ALDS against the Rays. Chris Sale started the game for Boston and was completely ineffective on the mound.
Sale lasted exactly one inning for Boston surrendering four hits while giving up five earned runs. Manager Alex Cora would let his ace only throw 30 pitches before turning the ball over to the bullpen.
Houcktober was born
Houcktober #RedSox | #DirtyWater
— Chris Henrique (@ChrisHenrique) October 9, 2021
The Red Sox would replace Sale with Tanner Houck who was magnificent on the mound.
Houck came into the game with this team trailing 5-2, but the rookie didn’t let that bother him.
The right-hander promptly retired 11 straight batters. If you count his AL Wild Card performance against the Yankees and his outings against the Nationals, Houck had retired 27 batters in a row while striking out 15 of them.
“I had no idea, to be honest,” Houck said of his dominance. “I was just focused on getting outs and putting the team in position to win.”
Houck would only allow one run off of two hits over five innings of work. He was really tough on the Rays lineup allowing his team to claw their way back into the game. Ultimately the Red Sox offense was too much for Tampa Bay and Boston defeated the Rays 14-6.
Tanner Houck had his biggest performance on the national stage
Alex Verdugo puts his body on the line for October baseball #RedSox | #DirtyWater #Postseason | @dugie_lights
— Beyond the Monster: Boston Red Sox (@BeyondtheMnstr) October 9, 2021
“What happened I think was Tanner Houck,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “He was really tough.”
“Houck had all of his stuff working,” Cash said. “He looked like he had a great breaking ball. Just kept us off balance, but he was tough. We had seen him, I think, one other time early and he was good that time as well. But he came in and did a tremendous job for them.”
Houck had his best stuff on Friday night and he showcased what kind of pitcher he’ll be for Boston on a national stage.
“I definitely had little butterflies at first, but once I got out there, threw my warmup pitches,” Houck said. “I live for those moments where you’re in a different stadium, people yelling at you, all that stuff, I love that environment. And I love going out there and competing with my brothers.”
Tanner Houck channeled his inner playoff Nathan Eovaldi
The rookie right-hander came up big for the Sox when they needed him the most. Houck’s five innings against Tampa was similar to what Nathan Eovaldi did in the 2018 World Series.
Eovaldi pitched six innings during their marathon game against the Dodgers in Game 3. The righty ate up six innings of their 18 inning battle, that the Dodgers ultimately won. However, Eovaldi etched his name into Red Sox playoff lore with his performance.
Houck has now done the same thing for Boston in their quest to dethrone the reigning American League Champions. The 25-year-old Houck saved the day and arguably the series on Friday night.
Boston will turn the page and hand the ball over to Eovaldi on Sunday afternoon. The Red Sox will look to take the series lead with their ace on the mound.
– Chris Henrique (@ChrisHenrique on Twitter)
Feature image courtesy of NESN
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