With Tanner Houck ‘the most lost’ of his career, Red Sox not guaranteeing next start

Tanner Houck was left searching for answers Monday night in Detroit. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)Getty Images

Seconds after the Tigers recorded the final out of a 14-2 blowout win over the Red Sox, Boston starter Tanner Houck was sprawled out on the floor of a player’s lounge in the visitors clubhouse, re-watching his disastrous outing on an iPad. It was emblematic of his desperate, season-long search for answers.

Houck, four weeks after allowing 11 earned runs in 2 ⅓ innings in a blowout loss in Tampa, suffered a very similar fate at Comerica Park, allowing the exact same number of runs (11) while recording the exact same number of outs (7). This time, though, he allowed nine hits (including two homers), issued three walks and a wild pitch and struck out just two. The righty, who was an All-Star in 2024, watched as his ERA ballooned to 8.04 through his first nine starts of 2025.

“Probably the most lost I’ve ever been,” Houck said. “I’m just not getting the job done, which weighs on me heavily.”

Houck, who tired down the stretch and posted a 4.23 ERA in the second half after tallying a stellar 2.54 mark in 19 starts before the All-Sta break, entered 2025 with high expectations but has not delivered. After throwing a career-high 178 ⅔ innings, he struggled mightily in spring training and was hit around in his first two starts of the regular season (6.52 ERA) before going 6 ⅔ innings against Toronto on April 9. Then came the worst start of his career, 28 days ago, in Tampa. It has been a mixed bag since, with two quality starts and two iffy ones. Monday’s showing, however, leaves open the question of if the Red Sox will let him take his next turn in the rotation.

“We’ll talk about it, of course...,” said manager Alex Cora. “I’ve got to take a look at the video and we’ve got to see what we’re gonna do. Right now, it’s too fresh. It’s too quick. We have to take a look at it and see if it’s mechanical, usage, or where we’re at.”

Houck’s outing in the series opener against the best team in the American League started in loud fashion. He allowed a rocket double to Kerry Carpenter, then a no-doubter two-run homer to Gleyber Torres. Houck was in a 2-0 hole after a handful of pitches.

“The split to Carpenter stayed up in the zone and he put a good swing on it,” Cora said. “The sinker to Gleyber was 91, 92 (mph), put a great swing on it. Then, it just snowballed on us.”

Houck then worked a scoreless second before re-emerging for a third inning that was likely the worst of the Red Sox’ season. He allowed a leadoff double, then unleashed two walks and a wild pitch before Riley Greene lined a single to right field that became a Little League homer when it went past Wilyer Abreu’s glove and went all the way to the wall. Houck settled down with a pop-out, then allowed a single and hit a batter before Trey Sweeney made it 9-0. A Torres RBI single to put the Detroit lead into double digits spelled the end of Houck’s night after 69 pitches.

“We didn’t make plays, we didn’t cover first,” Cora said. “There was a lot of stuff, not only stuff-wise, but we didn’t do much either around him.”

The Tigers hit five balls harder than 100 mph against Houck, who got just two swings-and-misses.

“A lot of pitches in the middle of the zone and they put the ball in play and hit the ball hard,” Cora said. “No fastball command. He struggled today. He did.

“He had that good one in Toronto. The last one was OK. Today, there were a lot of pitches in the middle of the zone. The split was up. They put some good swings on it. The slider, he wasn’t able to get it across home plate and down in the zone to lefties. Just one of those.”

Houck, somewhat despondent after the game, said he had no physical issues to report. There have been adjustments to his mechanics and attack plan all year, but to this point, nothing has borne fruit.

“I work four days really hard to go out there,” Houck said. “Just not, obviously, doing the right things right now.

“I have the confidence to turn it around but, just have to keep working.”

It has been a sudden fall for Houck, who along with outfielder Jarren Duran, was one of the breakout stars of 2024 in Boston. But his performance — Houck’s ERA is the worst in baseball among qualified starters by more than two runs — has left the Red Sox no choice but to re-assess his future in the rotation, on an immediate basis. Other options, have emerged, too.

With Walker Buehler sidelined with bursitis in his shoulder, rookie Hunter Dobbins (2.78 ERA in 4 starts) has pitched well. Ditto the injured Richard Fitts (3.18 ERA in 3 starts), who is getting closer to returning from a pectoral strain. With Buehler due back next week as part of a starting five that also includes Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello — and Kutter Crawford nearing a rehab stint, too — decisions are coming soon. A merit-based look at things could result in some sort of alternative plan for Houck.

For now, though, his road back to dominance started with an iPad in the player’s lounge.

“Never stops,” Houck said. “That’s why you play the full 162. Trying to do my part whenever I’m out there. I just didn’t do it.”