Red Sox rookie Tanner Houck shifted gears when velocity dropped

BOSTON --- Tanner Houck knew his velocity wasn’t there Sunday.

It was obvious to the Red Sox right-hander beginning in the top of the first inning. His debut saw four-seam fastballs approaching 96 mph at Marlins Park. Houck’s second start saw him top out at 92.7.

Boston’s rookie still found a way to navigate through a dangerous Yankees lineup at Fenway Park. Tyler Wade’s leadoff double in the sixth was the only hit allowed by Houck in a 10-2 [...]

BOSTON --- Tanner Houck knew his velocity wasn’t there Sunday.

It was obvious to the Red Sox right-hander beginning in the top of the first inning. His debut saw four-seam fastballs approaching 96 mph at Marlins Park. Houck’s second start saw him top out at 92.7.

Boston’s rookie still found a way to navigate through a dangerous Yankees lineup at Fenway Park. Tyler Wade’s leadoff double in the sixth was the only hit allowed by Houck in a 10-2 victory.

"My two-seam was the main today," Houck said. "Whenever the velo is down like that I typically lean on it a little bit more. It’s moving a lot more than usual."

Houck threw 85 pitches through six innings against New York, and 36 of them were two-seam fastballs. His three-quarter arm slot creates natural run and sink into right-handed hitters and away from left-handed hitters. Houck walked three and hit a batter, but that pitch coupled with his wipeout slider made life difficult for the Yankees all day.

"You can just tell from watching the dude’s got some special stuff," said Michael Chavis, who cracked a pair of home runs. "Having gotten to play behind him a couple times now, it’s fun to watch."

Houck’s averages on his four-seam and two-seam fastballs dropped 2.6 mph and 2.2 mph, respectively, from his last outing. You could make a reasonable guess adrenalin had a little to do with it. Houck topped out at 95.5 mph on his four-seamer in the first inning at Marlins Park before settling into the 91-93 range.

"Our medical staff has talked with the medical staff in Pawtucket," Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke said. "That was the same thing that we kind of saw.

"Physically we don’t think it’s something that’s keeping him from throwing with velocity. He’s just one of those guys who fluctuates a lot."

Houck’s change in game plan resulted in frequent ground balls, and three of those were turned into double plays. New York’s lone run came with men at the corners and nobody out in the sixth. Luke Voit bounced into a 6-4-3 twin-killing, breaking up Houck’s shutout bid but snuffing out a chance at a sustained rally in what was a 6-0 game.

"Every time I go out there, no matter who it is, the game plan is always going to be the same," Houck said. "Just go out and attack hitters and do what I can."

That Houck resisted the urge to nibble around the strike zone and felt confident in his pitches speaks to his pedigree as a first-round pick in the 2017 draft and top-10 prospect in Boston’s organization. Among all Red Sox pitchers in franchise history, Houck is one of three who covered at least five innings in each of his first two appearances without allowing an earned run. That he’s won both of those games is a testament to the value added to a team by a quality starter.

"We’ll go through in the offseason and figure out what the rotation will be," Roenicke said. "There’s no doubt his name will be mentioned. We’ll talk about him quite a bit."

Houck is all but guaranteed to make one more start this upcoming weekend in Atlanta. He’ll carry a 2-0 record with a 0.00 earned-run average to the mound at Truist Park. Houck has allowed just three hits, walked six and struck out 11 across his 11 innings.

"It’s a good way to get my foot in the door and learn," Houck said. "I still obviously have things to work on leading into 2021. I’ll have one more start this year that I plan on going just as well.

"Confidence is really high. Just got to continue to work. I’ve had success now, but I know there are going to be bumps in the road. It’s all about how you bounce back after each start."

bkoch@providencejournal.com

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