Tanner Houck passed his first major-league test with flying colors. Now comes an even bigger challenge: the Yankees.
After tossing five scoreless innings and striking out seven in a win over the Marlins in his debut, Houck will be introduced to the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry on Sunday when he starts the teams’ final meeting of the season at Fenway Park.
“Ever since I’ve gotten drafted, it’s been a goal of mine to pitch here in Fenway,” Houck said. “It’s such a historical park. Over 100 years of history in this ballpark alone. Truly honored to get the start tomorrow and pitch in such a historic stadium.”
Houck earned the opportunity after what he did Tuesday. The Red Sox purposely tailored his debut to a favorable matchup against a mostly right-handed hitting Marlins lineup that has a habit of chasing pitches. It showed as he executed his pitch mix and kept hitters fooled, especially with his slider that generated five of his nine swings-and-misses.
But there’s no hiding against this Yankees lineup that’s filled with All-Stars and will make him pay for any mistake. It’s obviously a much bigger challenge than he faced in his debut, but he’s going into it with the same mindset.
“They’ve shown obviously that they can hit the ball, not for just home runs but also putting men on base,” Houck said. “All confidence going into it. I know what I have in my skillset. It’s just about executing pitches and doing what I’ve done for years now. All confidence going into it. …
“For me, nothing really changes. As long as you go out there and attack the zone, I think good things happen. If you go right at people and get them on their heels early, it sets up a lot more. Typically whenever you’re behind in hitters counts, a lot of people become more dangerous. Just go out there and attack right away and I’ll definitely feel real confident.”
Devers finishing hot
Rafael Devers is developing a pattern early in his career. In each of his last two seasons, the third baseman has started slow at the plate before heating up. Only this season, he doesn’t have much time to build on it.
Devers’ batting average was as low as .167 on Aug. 12, but since then, he’s looked like the hitter everyone recognizes. Since Aug. 18, he’s batting .360 with nine homers, 31 RBIs and a 1.104 OPS — all marks that are Top 4 in the American League in that period — going into Saturday night’s game. It’s unfortunate that the season has a week left, but Devers isn’t looking at it that way.
“It is what it is,” Devers said. “Obviously we know what this season was going to be – 60 games – and I just try to play it as hard as I can and try to improve every single day and just put in the work that I need to. Now I’m just trying to finish strong to end the season.”
Munoz’s season over
Yairo Munoz, who left Thursday’s game against the Marlins with back spasms, was placed on the 10-day injured list, which will effectively end his season with a week remaining. Cesar Puello was called up from the alternate site and could see some time in the outfield over the final week.
Munoz, who was signed to a minor-league contract in March, made a strong impression in a short time with the Red Sox this season. The utility player was called up after the Kevin Pillar trade and made an immediate impact, recording six hits across a doubleheader on Sept. 4. He finished the season with a .333 average, four doubles and a home run in 12 games while playing good defense, and should be in the mix for a roster spot next year.
“Just a shame right now,” manager Ron Roenicke said. “He was doing everything, running the bases well and driving the ball. Putting it in play. Did a good job in the outfield, he looks like he has good instincts. So too bad for him. We put him there so he wouldn’t even be active for the last day so that’s too bad for him.” …
Alex Verdugo, who left Friday’s game for precautionary reasons due to hamstring tightness, was also out of Saturday’s lineup.
“They were going to work on him in the training room,” Roenicke said. “I saw him before anybody worked on him but he still felt it. So we’ll be cautious there and just see how he comes out of it today after working on him and see what the medical staff says.”
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September 20, 2020 at 05:32AM
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Red Sox rookie Tanner Houck ready to face Yankees after dazzling debut - Boston Herald
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