The Boston Red Sox took a red-hot 7-3 record, an American League wild-card postseason spot, and a favorable position in the AL East standings into the MLB All-Star break with plenty of roster members deserving of their credit.
Among those elite performers is right-handed All-Star pitcher Tanner Houck, who's shined brighter than anyone else in Boston's rotation thus far.
"It's Tanner Houck," Adam Pellerin said on NESN's "Boston Has Entered The Chat" podcast. "... You can't pick anybody else. He's going to the All-Star Game for the first time in his career. This is a player, or a pitcher rather, who came up, and man, he had some nasty stuff. And he got the nickname, the "right-handed Chris Sale" because when he got called up, you're seeing the same sort of arm action, you're seeing the same sort of nasty stuff."
Breaking out this season while also stepping up in a crucial time for the Red Sox, Houck has flourished on the mound, going 8-6 with a 2.54 ERA in 117 innings pitched -- which ranks 10th among all MLB pitchers.
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Watch the full episode of "Boston Has Entered The Chat" here:
"He has just been lights out," Pellerin added. "His most recent performance against the A's, you're like, "Oh, it's the Oakland A's." Well, still, he's been consistent. Six shutout innings, his fifth scoreless appearance of the year, a 2.54 ERA. He's in the Cy Young conversation. It's gonna be interesting though because he's gonna reach a certain point where he's going to have the career-high in innings. And we'll see how he handles that."
Houck will take the field alongside Red Sox teammate Jarren Duran as Boston's two representatives in attendance for Tuesday night's Midsummer Classic in Texas.
Featured image via Paul Rutherford/USA TODAY Sports Images
