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Houck

Houck gave up one hit, walked one and struck out none. He threw just four innings in his last start as the Red Sox are managing his workload. Houck threw 60 pitches in his last start and 57 pitches on Monday. It’s unclear if the Red Sox will use him again against the Rays later this week, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he’s shutdown. It might be a foregone conclusion that Houck is done if the Red Sox are eliminated from playoff contention. If his season is over, he finished 9-10 with a 3.12 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 154 strikeouts in 178 2/3 innings.

It seems Houck recovered well from his four-inning start Wednesday after going 13 days in between outings due to shoulder fatigue. If Monday’s start goes according to plan, then it’s possible he could also pitch in the season finale next Sunday against the Rays. Still, if we had to guess, we’d lean towards Monday’s outing being his last.

This was an odd start for Houck. The Red Sox are obviously trying to limit his workload as he’s already thrown a career-high innings and has struggled when pitching deeper into games over the last few months. So, he was pulled after 60 pitches and just two times around the lineup. In this short outing, he limited the usage of his sinker against left-handed batters and threw more sweepers and splitters earlier in counts than he has otherwise this season. He’s scheduled to face the Blue Jays in Toronto next time out, but it’s unlikely he pitches deep in that game.

Houck hasn’t been able to pitch since September 4 because of shoulder fatigue, but the right-hander is back on the bump against Tampa Bay. The Red Sox may take extra precaution with the 28-year-old because of the layoff and where they are in the standings, so keep that in mind before streaming him.

Houck hasn’t pitched since September 4th due to shoulder fatigue, but wasn’t placed on the injured list. It looks like he finally should be ready to go against the Rays on Wednesday.

He’ll likely pitch Wednesday or Thursday. With Houck apparently available, Richard Fitts isn’t currently lined up for another start. Still, we’d expect that to change.

The Red Sox had Houck slated to pitch on eight days’ rest to give him time to overcome his dead arm, but it wasn’t enough. Richard Fitts will start on four days’ rest in Houck’s place.

The Red Sox brought Richard Fitts up Sunday primarily to give Houck a little extra time between starts. If he pitches Friday, he’d be on eight days’ rest against the Yankees. If he can’t go, it sounds like Fitts will get the ball.

Apparently, this is more about getting Tanner Houck extra time off than it is about Bello. Houck was in line to start Monday against the Orioles, but he’ll apparently now face the Yankees on Friday, giving him eight days’ rest. Richard Fitts is expected to either start or pitch in a bulk role Sunday against the White Sox.

It looked like Houck’s night could’ve gotten ugly after Jesse Winker’s first inning grand slam. Instead, he retired the next 13 batters he faced including a string of seven straight punch outs between the third and fifth inning. This was only his third time with at least seven strikeouts since the beginning of July and he still hasn’t recorded a win since July 11th. His outings could remain this short too, he was pulled with just 84 pitches, as he’s already nearly 70 innings clear of his career high. He has a scary two-step next week starting with the Orioles at home before heading to Yankee Stadium.