Alex Cora wanted five innings out of Tanner Houck.
Corey Kluber and Chris Sale failed to pitch four innings in their respective starts, so for the sake of the bullpen Cora needed Houck to go deep.
“Today’s a big one for us,” the Red Sox manager said on Sunday morning. “Hopefully Tanner can give us five, that’d be great.”
Houck, who debuted as a starter in 2020 and has been used in every conceivable role over three years in the majors, delivered.
Over five innings in the series finale against the Baltimore Orioles, Houck gave up three earned runs on five hits, walked one, and struck out five. He threw 70 pitches, 45 for strikes.
That final line belies how strong the 26-year-old righty was in his season debut. He’s the first Red Sox starter to have a scoreless first inning and the first to complete four innings.
Other than his splitter, Houck was efficient, controlled, and strong, with his fastball and slider reaching the mid-90s. Through the first three innings he held the O’s to one hit and one walk. He only needed 47 pitches to get through the first four, compared to Orioles starter Cole Irvin, who needed 81 pitches to get through the bottom halves.
The cracks started to show in the fifth, when Houck gave up a one-out, two-run homer to Adam Frazier and a two-out solo homer to Cedric Mullins, bringing Baltimore in line with Boston 3-3. But Houck struck out Adley Rutschman, who hadn’t struck out once in the first two games of the series, for the third time, to escape further damage.
The offense and bullpen took care of business from there, and the result was a 9-5 victory and an opening series win.
The Red Sox offense is on a roll to start the season, scoring nine or more runs in each of the team’s first three games for the first time in franchise history.
According to MLB.com’s Ian Browne, the 1978 Milwaukee Brewers and 1976 Cincinnati Reds are the only other teams in modern MLB history (since 1901) to achieve the same feat.
Before this year, Red Sox teams had only scored eight-plus runs in their first three games twice, in 1936 and 1995.
The historic offensive output has been a complete team effort, but Adam Duvall has been the driving force in the heart of the order.
Boston’s new outfielder has been scorching hot through the first weekend, going 8-for-14 with two home runs, three doubles, a triple, six runs scored, and eight RBI.
He followed Saturday’s epic performance with another strong outing Sunday, going 3 for 5 with two doubles, two RBI, and two runs scored. He also barely missed his third home run of the weekend, a rocket that just missed clearing the top of the Green Monster.
To the uninitiated it might have seemed odd that Rob Refsnyder, not Alex Verdugo or Kiké Hernández, was slotted as leadoff hitter for Sunday’s series finale, but given the presence of Orioles lefty Cole Irvin on the mound you could argue it was a no-brainer.
Refsnyder feasted on left-handed pitching in 2022, hitting .359 with a 1.005 OPS in 73 plate appearances. He set the tone on Sunday as well, delivering a leadoff single and coming around to score the game’s first run.
Though he’s still a long way out from a potential return, Trevor Story (elbow rehab) has remained with the team and according to Alex Cora been a productive and positive influence in the clubhouse.
“Having him in the dugout means a lot, he talks the game, he watches the game, he’s helping guys out,” Cora said.
Story is currently at the 12-week mark in his recovery, which Cora says puts him about two weeks out from throwing and a month out from swinging a bat. At some point he will leave the team to complete his rehab in Fort Myers but for
“I’m glad he’s here and helping us out and he’s excited about where he’s at,” Cora said. “He’s feeling really good.”
In other injury news, Garrett Whitlock (right hip rehab) is starting Thursday for the Portland Sea Dogs Opening Day, and James Paxton (right hamstring strain) and Brayan Bello (right elbow inflammation) are both slated to make rehab starts in the coming days.
Exactly when and where Paxton and Bello pitch next is still being worked out given inclement weather expected across the northeast this week. Paxton in particular may need to make his next start down south, either in Fort Myers or at one of the club’s Single-A affiliates in South Carolina or Virginia.
The Red Sox welcome the Pittsburgh Pirates for a three-game series on Monday, 4/3. The Pirates are 1-2 this season after finishing 62-100 and tied for last in the NL Central in 2022.
Kutter Crawford will start for the Red Sox on Monday (7:10 PM) against Johan Oviedo, and Nick Pivetta will face Roansy Contreras on Tuesday (7:10 PM) and Corey Kluber will face Mitch Keller on Wednesday (1:35 p.m.). Former Red Sox pitcher Rich Hill, who started Saturday’s game for the Pirates, is not in line to take the mound in his return to Fenway Park.
The Red Sox and Pirates played each other last August for the first time since 2017, but thanks to MLB’s new balanced schedule format every team will play the other at least once throughout the season, so Red Sox fans can plan on seeing National League clubs visiting Fenway Park far more often than in years past.