Red Sox Notes: Tanner Houck Looks To Curb Third-Time Struggles

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Tanner Houck really only made one mistake through the first five innings Friday night against the Baltimore Orioles.

It looked like it was going to be a promising outing from Houck, but his troubles going through a lineup a third time continue to be a thorn that won’t come out of his side.

Houck faltered yet again the deeper he went into the game, allowing four runs in the sixth inning as the Orioles ran away with a resounding 11-2 win at Fenway Park.

“The first five innings (were good),” Houck told reporters, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “The sixth inning, past two starts, need to clean it up a little bit, need to get better, need to execute pitches a little bit better. All in all, continue to learn, continue to push myself to get better each time.”

The third time through an order has been a consistent problem for Houck, stretching all the way back to the beginning of the season.

Opponents are hitting just .211 off the right-hander the first time they see him, but their production significantly increases after that. By the time Houck faces a batter for the third time, they are batting .297 and that average balloons to .368 when runners are in scoring position.

Despite those struggles, the Red Sox remain committed to helping Houck find a solution.

“Just got to keep working at it,” manager Alex Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “He’s got good stuff. We’ll find a way because this kid, his stuff is good. The cutter was good today, the sinker, the slider. We just got to keep working.

“We got to keep pushing him out there, go as long as possible. We’ll find a way.”

Houck, who went 5 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits with two walks and five strikeouts, was efficient early on against a deep and talented Orioles lineup. He retired nine of 11 batters he faced from the third through fifth innings — his only blemish was a solo home run to Ryan O’Hearn — but then things fell apart for him in the sixth.

Houck’s determined to find a way to go deeper into games as his effectiveness as a starting pitcher hinges on that with him checking a lot of other boxes.

“Continue to stick with my strong suits the best I can,” Houck said. “I felt like I’ve grown as a pitcher in terms of being in the zone more, attacking hitters earlier. Just trying to go deep in games and understanding the development side of that and pitching sequencing and all of that. It’s forever an evolving process. … But pushing myself to get through the lineup three times, go deeper into games, six, seven innings.”

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Here are more notes from Friday’s Red Sox-Orioles game:
— Alex Verdugo returned to the Red Sox lineup after missing the previous three games due to hamstring tightness. He recorded one of Boston’s four hits in the loss with a sixth-inning double to left-center field.

— Trevor Story is mired in a massive slump. He has just three hits in his last 38 at-bats, including going 0-for-3 in the loss to the Orioles.

— Triston Casas has been on an offensive tear to put himself in the American League Rookie of the Year conversation, but he saw his 10-game hitting streak come to an end. He finished 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Meanwhile, AL Rookie of the Year favorite Gunnar Henderson went 3-for-6 with a double and triple for the Orioles.

— Fenway hasn’t been a friendly confine for the Red Sox as of late. Since the start of August, Boston is 6-11 at its home ballpark with half of those wins coming against the lowly Kansas City Royals.

— Boston Bruins fan favorite Milan Lucic was in attendance for the game and threw out the ceremonial first pitch. He comically pretended to drop the gloves with Justin Turner after his toss.

— The Red Sox and Orioles continue their three-game series Saturday. First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.