Tanner Houck earned his first career All-Star nod after putting together a dominant start to the season, but the Red Sox ace has been a little shakier over his last two outings.

Now, taking the mound for the last time before next Tuesday’s All-Star Game, Houck is aiming to finish the first half strong.

Houck (7-6, 2.68) will start Thursday’s series finale against the Oakland Athletics, who will send right-hander Luis Medina (2-3, 4.37) to the mound. Houck is coming off back-to-back outings of five or fewer innings after starting the year with 16 straight starts in which he pitched into the sixth, though his last start was also disrupted by a 38-minute rain delay.

The right-hander’s first start of the season also came against Oakland, and that outing proved to be a precursor of things to come. Houck threw six shutout innings and struck out 10 in Boston’s 9-0 win, and the Red Sox would no doubt enjoy seeing a similarly dominant performance today.

Jarren Duran CF

David Hamilton 2B

Tyler O’Neill LF

Rafael Devers 3B

Connor Wong C

Masataka Yoshida DH

Wilyer Abreu RF

Dominic Smith 1B

Ceddanne Rafaela SS

Tanner Houck P

When: 7:10 p.m.

Where: Fenway Park, Boston

Broadcast info: NESN, WEEI 93.7 FM, WCCM 1490 AM (Spanish)