It was hard to not be impressed by Tanner Houck’s Major League Baseball debut.
The 2017 first-round pick threw five innings of two-hit, no-run ball in the Boston Red Sox’s 2-0 win over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night.
Houck also picked up seven strikeouts to go along with the victory.
What’s more, the right-hander revealed he’d donate $100 for each K toward his “Pitch For Adoption” campaign.
After the game, Houck couldn’t find the words to describe his outing.
“For me, getting to go out there, definitely had the heart pounding,” he said during his Zoom postgame press conference. “It was a surreal moment. I can’t even put it into words.”
And being able to donate $700 to a cause that means so much to him made it that much better.
“The reality is everything I could have imagined,” he said. “Especially now, getting to pitch for my cause and my charity is definitely a bonus on top of doing this experience. I can’t even put it into words.”
You can learn more about Pitch For Adoption here.
Here are some other notes from Tuesday’s Red Sox-Marlins game:
— Houck’s debut also was the Red Sox’s best since Eduardo Rodriguez went 7 2/3 innings in 2015.
— The seven strikeouts Houck compiled while not giving up a run also put him in with some pretty good company.
“He looked calm out there,” manager Ron Roenicke said on Zoom. “… He made an impression on all of us.”
— Roenicke did not rule out Houck pitching in 2021 for Boston.
“That’s why we have him pitching right now,” he said, “to see what he’s like and see if he would fit in next year.”
— Sandy Alcántara also pitched well for the Marlins, keeping the Red Sox off the board until the sixth inning when Jackie Bradley Jr. doubled in Boston’s first run.
— The shutout was the second of the season for the Red Sox.
Thumbnail photo via Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports Images
