Red Sox unable to capitalize on Houck's bounce-back start

BOSTON -- For the Red Sox, Friday night’s main storyline should have been Tanner Houck's rebound start after what had been a tough month-plus for the All-Star ace.

Houck did his job, albeit unconventionally, generating just two swings and misses while getting one strikeout yet giving up four hits and a run over six innings and 82 pitches.

It was a quality start, one in which Houck departed with a two-run lead. But it was not enough in what wound up an 8-4 loss for the Red Sox to the Astros at Fenway Park in the opener of a six-game homestand.

Houston got into what manager Alex Cora refers to as its fast-break offense, belting Boston’s bullpen, which was belted around to the tune of 11 hits and seven runs over the final three innings.

Recently-acquired Lucas Sims got the brunt of it, getting just one out while giving up four hits and four runs. The righty had been excellent in his first three appearances with the Red Sox, giving up no hits or runs.

“It boils down to probably just execution,” Sims said. “Throwing too many hittable pitches out over the plate and probably just chalk it up to that.”

You could also chalk it up to the Astros being who they are, and who they’ve been for many years. At 60-55, this squad doesn’t compare to some of the recent Houston powerhouses, mainly due to injuries to the pitching staff.

But the Astros still have dangerous hitters who can turn a game on its ear at any time.

The momentum started to shift when No. 8 hitter Jake Meyers greeted Sims with a leadoff triple in the seventh.

“You learn from it and shower it off and move on to the next game,” Sims said.

The biggest blow came from an unsurprising source. That would be Jose Altuve, who mashed a 1-1 sweeper over the Green Monster to tie the game. The big blow was reminiscent of Altuve’s equalizer against Garrett Whitlock in Game 4 of the 2021 American League Championship Series, when the Sox had a 2-1 lead in the series only to lose the final four games.

“The Little Man got a sweeper in his nitro zone. That’s what he does,” Cora said. “Then after that, we weren't able to slow them down. We’ve seen that game a lot since Game 4 in ‘21. It just happens quickly.

“They did a good job putting the ball in play, hitting the ball hard early in counts. They’re very aggressive.”

Fortunately for the Red Sox, the stakes weren’t nearly as high as they were in October of ‘21. Even with the defeat, Boston remained just 1 1/2 games behind the Royals (and tied in the loss column) for the third AL Wild Card spot.

Sims gave up hits to two of Houston’s other top guys in Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez to end his frustrating night.

Zack Kelly tried to take some of the burden off Sims by getting him out of trouble. Instead, the Astros continued to run their fast break with three straight hits to add on two more runs for a 5-3 lead.

Houck a bright spot

If Friday winds up representing the start of a resurgence for Houck, the Red Sox will be able to live with this loss.

In his previous six starts, Houck had a 6.16 ERA.

“Early on, I struggled with the command a little bit, but ultimately bounced back to make the pitches when I needed to,” Houck said. “It was a great game to look back and learn from, and continue to grow.”

Why did Houck generate such little swing and miss?

“They don’t strike out,” Cora said. “They swing and they put the ball in play.”

Only the Royals and Padres have fewer strikeouts than the 814 from Houston’s offense.

Offensive letdown

The Red Sox are tied with the Yankees for the MLB lead in OPS (.772), and have been particularly hot of late. But Friday was just one of those nights, as Cora’s club generated just six hits while going 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and leaving 10 runners on base.

The biggest chance of the game was in the bottom of the seventh when Rafael Devers stepped up with the bases loaded and two outs, his team down by a pair. Facing Tayler Scott, Devers struck out on three pitches.

“We pushed everybody. We used everybody today,” Cora said. “We had a lot of opportunities. They made some pitches.”