Houck 'perfect' and more: 30 up, 30 down
Righty mows down 30 straight batters over 4 appearances, helps Sox even ALDS
Bryan Hoch
@BryanHochST. PETERSBURG -- Tanner Houck seemed to have something special going in his final start of the regular season, having mowed through 15 consecutive Nationals, but the Red Sox right-hander seemed to understand why he handed the baseball off to the bullpen. There would be a more important October assignment ahead, he was promised.
That moment arrived early in Friday¡¯s Game 2 of the American League Division Series, with Houck summoned after starter Chris Sale surrendered five runs in the first inning. The 25-year-old Houck restored order with five strong frames of relief, picking up his first postseason win in Boston¡¯s 14-6 victory over the Rays at Tropicana Field.
¡°I definitely had a little butterflies at first, but once I got out there and threw my warmup pitches, I felt like I was pretty comfortable,¡± 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.¡±
Houck¡¯s performance had a gem tucked inside: His fourth-inning strikeout of Manuel Margot marked his 27th consecutive out recorded, a hidden perfect game scattered across four appearances. Houck retired three more batters before his ¡°perfecto¡± was broken up by a Wander Franco single with two outs in the fifth inning, ending at 30 consecutive batters.
¡°I had no idea, to be honest,¡± Houck said. ¡°I was more just focused on getting outs and just putting the team in the best place to win.¡±
Houck began that string on Sept. 28 at Baltimore, retiring Pat Valaika on a pop fly for the last out of the eighth inning. He retired all 15 Nationals faced in the penultimate game of the regular season on Oct. 2 at Washington, striking out eight. Houck then appeared in relief during the AL Wild Card Game against the Yankees, working a clean seventh inning.
¡°Great decision taking him out of the perfect game, right, so we could use him later?¡± manager Alex Cora said, with a chuckle. ¡°He has been amazing. The fastball, the slider, the split -- he doesn¡¯t panic. We¡¯ve been using him a lot, and we have to be careful with that, but today was the perfect day for him to go out there and help us win a ballgame.¡±
Ji-Man Choi hit a sixth-inning homer off Houck, who tossed 61 pitches (44 for strikes), striking out five.
¡°Tanner Houck was really tough,¡± Rays manager Kevin Cash said. ¡°It looked like he had all of his stuff working. He looked like he had a great breaking ball. He just kept us off balance. He came in and did a tremendous job for them.¡±
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Houck is the fifth Red Sox pitcher in the Expansion Era (since 1961) to retire at least 27 batters in a row within a single season (regular season and postseason).
The last was Koji Uehara, who retired 37 straight batters from Aug. 17-Sept. 13, 2013. Mike Timlin (28, Sept. 22-Oct. 15, 2003), Hideo Nomo (31, May 25-31, 2001) and Pedro Martinez (30, Sept. 10-15, 1999) also achieved the feat.
¡°What [Houck] did was unbelievable,¡± said Kik¨¦ Hernandez, whose four extra-base hits set a Red Sox postseason record. ¡°He kept us in the game and gave us a chance to come back.¡±
Houck¡¯s performances -- combined with abbreviated outings from Eduardo Rodr¨ªguez and Sale in the first two games of this ALDS -- present an argument for him to rejoin the rotation later in this series, or should Boston advance.
¡°He¡¯s getting better and better,¡± Cora said.
Houck made three starts in September, then shifted to the bullpen as Boston transitioned into a four-man rotation for the stretch drive. Houck¡¯s highest pitch total in September was 71, on Sept. 15 at Seattle. He tossed a season-high 90 pitches in back-to-back starts on Aug. 24 vs. Minnesota and Aug. 29 at Cleveland.
¡°I¡¯ve always trusted A.C. with his game plan and his vision,¡± Houck said. ¡°He is, it always seems, 10 steps ahead of everyone. You¡¯ve got to trust him. ¡ I was more than willing to come out of the perfect game and just be ready for a bigger moment. I¡¯m truly blessed to have him trust me enough to put me in those moments.¡±