BOSTON — “It wasn’t a tryout,” Alex Cora said after Tanner Houck pitched a career-high seven innings in Thursday afternoon’s 11-5 series finale victory over the Minnesota Twins.
The Red Sox currently have an abundance of starting pitching, but maintain they want to keep a five-man rotation on a consistent basis, though Cora notably said “or six” after Houck’s performance.
The 26-year-old righty was originally slated to start the season in the bullpen, but reverted back to a starting role when Garrett Whitlock, Brayan Bello and James Paxton weren’t ready for the Opening Day roster. At the time, the expectation was that Houck would move back to the bullpen as soon as one of the aforementioned pitchers was ready to be activated, but four times through the rotation now, he’s been one of the most consistent, effective arms.
