Tanner Houck Dominant In Second Red Sox Rehab Outing

Tanner Houck’s first rehab outing didn’t inspire a ton of confidence that he was ready to pitch again for the Boston Red Sox.

But Houck’s start Friday evening for Triple-A Worcester against the Buffalo Bisons was the exact opposite.

The right-hander looked ready to rejoin the Red Sox after a dominating performance in which he tossed three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and no walks while striking out three. Houck was efficient and showed strong command, too, throwing 23 of his 34 pitches for strikes.

There’s no definitive timetable set for Houck’s return, but manager Alex Cora did express earlier this month that he hoped to have the 27-year-old back with the big-league club for next week’s series on the road against the Washington Nationals.

Houck displayed plenty of improvement from his first rehab outing. He surrendered two runs on three hits in that showing against the Syracuse Mets while giving up three walks and recording three strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings.

Houck hasn’t pitched for the Red Sox since June 16 against the New York Yankees when he took a liner off the face, which resulted in a facial fracture and required surgery. Whatever mental hurdles Houck may have faced after that scary incident, it seems like he’s cleared them given his latest performance.

It’s unclear how the Red Sox will use Houck once he does come back. It seems like he is in line to stay in the starting rotation, though, Cora revealed that Garrett Whitlock, who is expected to return Sunday, is going back to his multi-inning reliever role that he excelled in during the 2021 season.