Everything seemed to be working for the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday in their American League Division Series Game 1 win over the Boston Red Sox.
Game 2, though? Not so much.
The Rays jumped out to a 5-2 lead and chased Chris Sale after just one inning of work. Then Tanner Houck entered the game and Tampa Bay couldn’t get anything going against the right-hander.
Houck pitched five innings of one-run, two-hit ball and struck out five in the Red Sox’s 14-6 shellacking of the Rays on Friday to tie the ALDS at 1-1. The hard-throwing righty caught the attention of Pedro Martinez and had Rays batters swinging and missing at his nasty slider.
So, what happened to the strong Rays offense? Kevin Cash had a simple answer.
“What happened I think was Tanner Houck,” Cash told reporters after the game, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “He was really tough.”
It’s unclear if Houck will be available for Game 3 when the series shifts to Fenway Park on Sunday afternoon. But we’re sure the Rays will be doing their homework to try to figure out how to hit him.
