'It's a huge step forward': Houck hits 30-start mark amid breakout year

BOSTON -- Tanner Houck, who claimed the fifth spot in Boston’s rotation at the end of Spring Training, is finishing his first full season in the Majors as much more than that.

The righty has emerged into the team’s No. 1 starter and was the team’s lone pitcher named an All-Star in 2024.

Making his 30th start of the season for the first time in his career, Houck mowed through the first 14 hitters he faced in Monday night’s 4-1 victory over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

On a pitch count late in the season, as the Red Sox are protecting their valuable starter with the future in mind, Houck allowed one hit and one walk over five innings, throwing 57 pitches. Houck didn’t have any strikeouts, as he pitched to contact and preyed on a Toronto team that was ultra-aggressive early in counts.

The 28-year-old appears to be well over the bout of right shoulder fatigue that limited his availability over the final month of the season.

“To get the 30th one under my belt, I don't think I've ever done it even in the Minor Leagues,” said Houck. “So, it is a huge step forward. I can kind of say that ever since I reached my [personal record] in innings this year. So it's been a lot of fun. I feel like I've grown a lot as an individual on and off the baseball field this year.”

The current plan is for Houck to start Sunday’s final game of the season for the Red Sox. He will take 178 2/3 innings into that outing at Fenway Park.

“You don't really want to end on a bad note,” said Houck. “The past few years, I've had some unfortunate circumstances with the back [surgery], getting hit in the face. To finally see this one all the way through, it’s a great feeling. It's a great team, and I love showing up and being with them every day. It’s a privilege to go out there every five days and compete with them.”

The Red Sox have leaned into a core of players in their mid-to-late 20s this season, and Houck has been right in the middle of it.

At the All-Star break, the Sox were 11 games over .500 and in possession of the third American League Wild Card spot by two games.

They are now 79-78, having gone 25-35 since the break. The Sox are 3 1/2 games behind in the AL Wild Card standings with five games left in the season, and they would need to climb over three teams to play in October. Only a miracle would allow that to happen.

“The math, I wasn't great at it. I was a good baseball player at Miami,” quipped Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “Just win tomorrow and see where we’re at and finish strong. That's the goal. And overall, we'll talk about it whenever we're done. We set our sights to make it to the playoffs and it's a very slim chance to make it. So we’ve just got to keep playing good baseball.”

There are still things to accomplish for the Red Sox over the final week of the season, even without a realistic playoff chase.

Houck was the embodiment of that on Monday, a night in which he notched his ninth win of the season and first since July 11, though he pitched well enough to win several of those previous starts, exiting with a lead four times, only to watch it disappear in the late innings.

Things looked almost effortless for Houck in start No. 30.

“He was really good,” Cora said. “He was efficient, he threw strikes, we played good defense behind him. And that was good enough.”

Though Houck did hit some speed bumps down the stretch, the ‘24 season is one in which he has made major breakthroughs. His 3.12 ERA puts him seventh in the American League.

The three homegrown starters who are occupying spots in the rotation -- Houck, Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello -- have all pitched well of late, which should give them confidence heading into 2025. While Bello had a three-week stint on the injured list earlier in the season, Crawford and Houck are about to spend the entire season on the active roster.

“I think these kids, they learned that this is part of the equation, and this is how we do it,” said Cora. “For them to finish the season the way they’re throwing the ball, it’s refreshing. It’s good.”