Houck remains 'a little out of whack' as Boston's playoff push stalls

BOSTON -- Tanner Houck, the ace of the Red Sox and first-time All-Star, is in the midst of some turbulence.

How quickly he comes out of it might have an impact on his team’s quest to make the playoffs.

After those first three months of the season when Houck pounded the strike zone with authority and made everything look easy, the last month has been a challenge for the big righty, continuing with an 8-2 loss to the Yankees in a big Sunday night rubber match in front of a packed house of 36,410 at Fenway Park.

Give Houck credit for this: He was successful at grinding through six innings on a night his bullpen was tapped. And he mostly minimized the damage after a three-run top of the first inning, allowing just one unearned run for the rest of the night. When he departed, his Red Sox trailed, 4-2, which didn’t feel like much considering the rivalry chaos (i.e., countless lead changes) that took place the first two games of the series.

The finale was different, however. The Yankees took control from the outset, and the only slight change in momentum came in the fourth inning, when Rob Refsnyder and Connor Wong smashed back-to-back homers off Carlos Rodón, who was otherwise brilliant.

As for Houck, he is trying to break through the grind of the past month and get back to the dominance.

“I think just timing issues and delivery just feels a little out of whack as of late, over the past month, but ultimately that's the way that a full 162 games is going to play out,” said Houck. “You're not always going to feel your best. You're not always going to have everything clicking, and it's about getting back to those days that you feel that and just keep showing up. Don't really [need] to reinvent the wheel.”

What Houck needs more than anything is to get back in the strike zone. His four walks on Sunday equaled a season high.

In his first 16 starts through June 24, Houck had a 2.18 ERA while holding the opposition to a .528 OPS. That span covered 103 1/3 innings in which Houck had just 18 walks and 101 strikeouts.

In the ensuing five starts capped by Sunday’s defeat, Houck has a 5.26 ERA, while the opposition has upped its OPS to .823. In 25 2/3 innings, Houck has 15 walks and 15 strikeouts.

“I think the strike throwing for me has been down within that time, while also feeling off with the delivery,” said Houck. “Ultimately, it’s finding that rhythm, finding that time again. And really, it’s just about showing up each and every day and kind of continuing to work on the stuff. And it's not always going to be fun, not always pretty, and you're going to be frustrated more days than you’re probably going to feel like it’s an easy thing.

“But if it was easy, then everyone would do it. So show back up tomorrow, continue to put in my work and get ready for the next outing.”

That next outing will likely be on Saturday in Texas, as Houck figures to get an extra day of rest thanks to Thursday’s team off-day.

Much like Houck, the Red Sox have also hit a pothole as a team, losing seven of nine coming out of the All-Star break with just one game left before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline.

“Teams are going to make adjustments,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “Guys are going to have bad games. That's part of it, right? We just have to keep making adjustments. I don't think a stretch of nine games dictates who we are. I think we're very consistent overall. We've been very consistent.”

With the Royals losing the past two days, the Red Sox head into a key three-game series against Seattle down by just one game in the American League Wild Card standings.

The Mariners, meanwhile, trail Boston by just a half-game.

“It's going to be another tough series, but our schedule the last couple months, there's nothing easy about it,” said Refsnyder. “So we’ve got to figure it out and figure it out fast. But I'm confident in the group here that we can do that, so just regroup tomorrow and come out swinging.”