Red Sox 1, Yankees 3: Tough Luck Tanner

Tanner Houck, a pitcher who came into tonight’s game with a 5.46 ERA, was perfect through three innings against the Yankees. When you hear that a pitcher is perfect through three innings, you probably have a different reaction depending on the pitcher. When vintage Pedro started a game like that, you sat up in your seat and lasered in on every pitch; Pedro was capable of making history every single night, and you never wanted to miss it. When someone like Rich Hill does it, on the other hand, you just kind of chuckle; both you and Rich Hill know it’s not going to last, but baseball sure can be weird sometimes.

Tanner Houck produces a third kind of reaction. You don’t expect to see history like you would with Pedro, but, despite the ERA over 5, you don’t outright dismiss it like you would with Rich Hill, either. You kind of just shrug and say, “yeah, Houck can do that.”

Because he can! His stuff is nasty! His arm angle is a nightmare! Tanner Houck is capable, for small stretches of time, of looking very much like one of the best pitchers on Earth. Good Tanner Houck is sooo good. And that’s what makes him so frustrating

Tonight, we got good Tanner Houck for six innings. He limited hard contact. He walked just a single hitter. He struck out six and missed bats all night.

But he also made two tiny mistakes that led to two solo homers. Gleyber Torres got a fat heater right in the middle of he plate and hammered it the other way in the fourth. Two innings later, Willie Calhoun got a splitter that didn’t quite dive enough and sent it to the first row in right for a Yankee Stadium Special. It was one of Houck’s best starts of the season, but that was enough for the Yankees to take a lead into the late innings.

Rafael Devers hit another homer and has officially busted out of his slump. And the bullpen did alright, with only Bernardino and Winckowski combining to allow an insurance run scored off a groundball that was nearly nabbed by Arroyo. But the Sox couldn’t do anything against the Yankees bullpen.

Three Studs

1. Tanner Houck: 6 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 6 K, 2 HR
2. Rafael Devers: 1-4, HR
3. Justin Turner: 2-4, BB, SB

Three Duds

1. Christian Arroyo: 1-4, 1 K, 1 E
2. Kiké Hernandez: 0-3
3. Triston Casas: 0-3, 2 K, BB

Play Of The Game

Willie Calhoun’s 6th inning home run would have been a home run in no other ballpark in the Major Leagues except for the one in which they happened to be playing. Baseball is kinda dumb, if you think about it.