Red Sox’s Alex Cora Provides Optimistic Update On Tanner Houck

The Boston Red Sox have been hampered by injuries all season and the bad news did not stop Tuesday, as two more notable players — Nathan Eovaldi and Eric Hosmer — hit the injured list.

That said, in the flurry of injury news there were a couple of positive notes, one of which regarded the Red Sox closer.

Manager Alex Cora informed the media that Tanner Houck started throwing on flat ground with “hopes of getting back at some point this year,” according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.

The right-hander gave an update of his own as well.

“Tanner Houck says he’s feeling much better after getting rest (no shot, no need for surgery with the disc issue in his back) and started playing catch the last few games,” Speier tweeted.

Houck was placed on the injured list on Aug. 9 with lower back inflammation, an injury many players on the Red Sox roster have sustained.

Houck is 5-4 with a 3.15 ERA this season along with a 56-to-22 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 60 innings while also converting eight of nine save opportunities this season.