'He gave us a chance to win': Houck solid on mound despite loss

MINNEAPOLIS – The final result wasn’t what he was looking for, but Tanner Houck gave the Red Sox exactly what they needed on Friday.

Houck pitched into the seventh inning for the third time in his last four starts, but Minnesota rallied for four runs in the seventh and held on for a 5-2 victory, the Twins' 11th in a row.

Quality starting pitching has been a concern for the Red Sox of late, which is no surprise given they’ve got four starting pitchers on the injured list. Three of them --Nick Pivetta, Brayan Bello and Garrett Whitlock -- appear to be close to returning. But on Saturday, for the second time in three games, manager Alex Cora will turn the pitching duties over to the bullpen.

And that’s why Houck’s outing Friday was especially important.

“He was excellent,” Cora said. “We needed him to go deep into the game … the good ones do. When you need innings, he goes out there. It’s not like he just gave us innings. He gave us a chance to win.”

Indeed, Houck cruised through the first six innings, allowing just one run on four hits. Then the game’s key play came after Minnesota’s first two batters singled to start the seventh inning.

Willi Castro laid down a bunt, which catcher Reese McGuire pounced on just in front of home plate. McGuire had time to set himself and throw to second base for a forceout. But he rushed the throw and it skipped into center field, allowing a run to score.

That was the end of the line for Houck, who matched his season high with 99 pitches. After the game, his manager was still thinking about what might have been.

“We didn’t make a play there on the bunt. If we get that out, we’re one pitch away and it’s his game right there,” Cora said. “But at that point, so many pitches, and we’re obviously thinking about him.”

Houck also had a case of the what-ifs after seeing his record drop to 3-3 on the year.

“To be able to get into the seventh again -- I want to go out there and I want to finish it,” Houck said. “I made a few quality pitches when the ball snuck through.”

One of those frustrating moments came when the Twins scored their first run. In the third inning, Castro was on third base after a leadoff double and two groundouts. Houck got ahead of Edouard Julien 0-2, then threw a belt-high sinker on the outside corner. Julien went with the pitch and hit a slow roller that slithered between third baseman Rafael Devers and shortstop Ceddanne Rafaela for an RBI single.

According to Baseball Savant, the ball left Julien’s bat at a pedestrian 74.9 mph and had an expected batting average of .150.

“Two inches left, two inches right, and we might make those plays,” Houck said. “Just a few pitches that maybe are left up a little bit too much that they got some good wood on.”

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said he anticipated a battle from the start, knowing that Houck was on the mound. “Their starter was pretty much dialed in, like he’s been this entire season, and we knew it would be a challenging, likely low-scoring affair.”

That’s exactly how the game played out until Minnesota’s rally in the seventh. Devers hit a two-out, two-run double in the eighth to break up the shutout, but Twins closer Jhoan Duran struck out two in a 1-2-3 ninth to slam the door.

But Houck left a good impression on the Twins, who haven’t had cause to praise opposing starters much during their 11-game winning streak.

“Their guy was really good tonight,” said Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers, who capped the seventh inning with a two-run single off reliever Naoyuki Uwasawa. “He looked good. His stuff was good. He’s had a good season and when you face him you can tell why.”

After reflecting on his outing, Houck was confident he’d be ready to do it all over again the next time his name is called.

“I’ll get back out there in a few days and go out there and throw a quality bullpen, have another week of quality catches and just get back out there and get ready again,” said Houck.

And as he’s done more often than not this season, he’ll give the Red Sox more of what they need from their workhorse right-hander.