Houck feeling blessed to begin comeback trail

BOSTON -- It has been three weeks since Red Sox right-hander Tanner Houck suffered a facial fracture after being struck by a batted ball on June 16.

Eventually, the big victories will come again. Right now, he is enjoying the small ones.

Houck was able to eat solid food on Thursday for the first time since the injury.

“So I started real food Thursday after I got cleared by the doctor, then I saw the eye doctor yesterday,” said Houck on Saturday in his first interview since he got hit by that liner by the Yankees’ Kyle Higashioka.

“Everything was good there, so I’m just kind of checking the boxes that I need to get back.

What was Houck’s first meal in nearly three weeks?

“Breakfast,” Houck said. “Went to the doctor at 7:30 [a.m.], got cleared, got back home, got some breakfast from Uber Eats. It was great. Everything I wanted.”

And in a few days, the baseball ramp-up starts again.

Houck is slated to throw for the first time on Tuesday and will stay on flat ground for at least two weeks before progressing to a mound.

“Luckily, it's nothing to do with the arm or anything like that,” Houck said. “Just mainly right now, I can't bite down and put too much pressure there, but it'll be just kind of a quick ramp up. I think it'll be two weeks, at least ... just normal throwing before I can touch a mound.”

A best-case scenario would have Houck throwing a bullpen session around July 25 and then repeating that exercise a couple of more times before throwing live batting practice.

A Minor League rehab assignment would be the next logical step after BP. It’s possible Houck could be pitching for the Red Sox at some point in August. The speed of his return to the active roster could depend on what role the club uses him in.

Houck had worked exclusively as a starter this season, going 3-6 with a 5.05 ERA in 13 turns through the rotation. It’s possible Houck could come back in relief so he can help the club sooner. But nothing has been decided.

“Get throwing on Tuesday first and then kind of start having those conversations as we get a little bit closer,” Houck said.

On June 27, Houck had surgery to have a plate inserted into the right side of his face. That plate will stay there permanently.

Surprisingly, Houck said he hasn’t dealt with a lot of pain during his recovery. He said the recovery from back surgery last season was worse.

“Honestly, throughout the entire experience, I wouldn't say I was in a ton of pain,” Houck said. “The body works in miraculous ways to do that. With the swelling and stuff like that, I was kind of taking a picture each morning just to see the progress of the night after or the day after it happened and then up until the surgery, and I would say it’s been a fairly easy recovery.

“Like I said, not as much pain as the back.”

As far as the mental hurdle of facing a batter for the first time since the scary incident, Houck doesn’t think that will be a big issue.

“My wife made the joke, you know, ‘Get him back out there as soon as possible so he can have another ball hit towards him’. Rip the band aid off type of mentality,” Houck said. It's part of the game. Injuries and unfortunate events are gonna happen.

“We're standing 60 feet, six inches away. And stuff like this is gonna happen. It's about how you bounce back and come back better, stronger and continue to put it behind you.”

And Houck does realize he is lucky.

“I’ve definitely been counting my blessings, knowing it could have been my eye, nose, jaw, and it could have been so much of a worse process,” he said. “The biggest thing I keep saying is I’m real lucky. I’m thankful the doctors and our medical staff are incredible, and my wife for dealing with me the past three weeks.

“But it's been a fairly easy recovery with all these great people around. I’m very blessed. It could have been a lot worse.”