Boston Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck joins franchise legends as Hot Start continues

Even as the Boston Red Sox rotation continues to drop like flies, the remaining starters have remained hot.

Tanner Houck took the mound against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday. The 27-year-old right-hander threw 7.0 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk in the Red Sox’s 5-0 victory.

The quality start brought his season ERA to 1.94, which is good for third in the entire American League.

As Jayhay of Underdog Fantasy noted, Houck is the first Red Sox pitcher to post a sub-2.00 ERA in the first 10 starts of a season since Clay Buchholz did it in 2013.

Only four others have accomplished the feat for the franchise in the past 40 years. Josh Beckett did it in 2011, Pedro Martinez did it four years in a row from 1998 to 2001, Tim Wakefield did it in 1995 and Rogers Clemens did it in both 1988 and 1992 .

Considering everyone on that list is either a Cy Young winner or a World Series champion, that’s some pretty quality company for Houck to join.

Houck looked like he would become a staple of the Red Sox pitching staff when he first broke into the big leagues, and he maintained that reputation for the better part of three seasons. From 2020 to 2022, Houck went 9-9 with a 3.02 ERA, 1.123 WHIP and 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings, splitting time between the rotation and the bullpen.

The righty didn’t fare as well in 2023 when he was a full-time starter and dealing with injuries. He finished the year 6-10 with a 5.10 ERA, 1.368 WHIP and 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings.

Fortunately for the Red Sox, Houck is back so far in 2024. Even though he’s only 4-5, his 2.2 WAR is fifth-highest among AL starting shortstops, while his 1.94 ERA ranks third and his 0.954 WHIP ranks second place.

Houck served as such an important piece in Boston’s starting rotation, not only because he was so dominant, but also because other weapons came and went.

Brayan Bello and Nick Pivetta both had stints on the injured list. Lucas Giolito had elbow surgery in spring training and now Garrett Whitlock has torn ligaments in his throwing elbow and may require surgery as well.

Houck and Kutter Crawford carried the load all season, both ranking in the top six in the AL in ERA and WAR. Neither will take the mound again until the Red Sox’s next weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers, which begins Friday at Fenway Park.

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