Tanner Houck’s impressive outing against the Guardians came to an abrupt end in the seventh inning at Progressive Field, as the Red Sox fell 4-1 on Tuesday night. Unlike his three-hit shutout against Cleveland at Fenway Park just days before, Houck struggled to maintain his dominance after six solid innings.
In front of a sparse crowd on a rainy, cold night, Houck and Guardians righty Ben Lively engaged in a pitchers’ duel, exchanging quick outs for the first half of the game. Houck walked four batters and struck out three, while Lively was equally effective over six innings.
Boston broke the deadlock in the top of the seventh when Wilyer Abreu connected for a solo home run to right field. However, Cleveland responded swiftly in the bottom half of the inning. Will Brennan doubled and scored on a Tyler Freeman RBI single. Houck walked Estevan Florial and was replaced by Brennan Bernardino, who walked David Fry to load the bases. Brayan Rocchio lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, giving Cleveland a 2-1 lead.
The Guardians added a pair of insurance runs off rookie lefty Cam Booser in the eighth inning. José Ramírez led off with a solo home run, and Estevan Florial drove in another run with an RBI double. In total, Houck tossed 6+ innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits.
With Rafael Devers unavailable, manager Alex Cora had to employ creative tactics in the infield late in the game. He pinch-hit Reese McGuire for Bobby Dalbec at first base and Masataka Yoshida for Pablo Reyes at third base. As a result, catcher Connor Wong played first base for the first time in the majors, and Ceddanne Rafaela played third base for the first time.
The Red Sox haven’t announced a starter for Wednesday yet, though righty Cooper Criswell could be in line for a significant workload. The Guardians will throw veteran Carlos Carrasco (1-1, 3.44 ERA) with first pitch at 6:10 p.m. ET.
