NEW YORK — The Red Sox wanted to see how Tanner Houck’s shoulder felt Thursday before deciding whether or not to re-insert him into their rotation for Friday’s game at Yankee Stadium. According to manager Alex Cora, it’s all systems go.
Cora said Houck will indeed start opposite righty Clarke Schmidt in the second game of a four-game series between the rivals Friday night. The Red Sox were closely monitoring Houck’s condition after he didn’t feel like he bounced back as fast as usual from his last outing Sept. 4 against the Mets. Boston started rookie Richard Fitts in his major league debut in Houck’s place Sunday and still have Fitts on the roster. He would have likely pitched Friday if Houck couldn’t go but will instead be in the bullpen.
Houck, who has thrown 169 ⅔ innings over 28 starts so far this season, was dealing with shoulder fatigue after allowing four runs and five hits against the Mets.
“Just the shoulder not bouncing back,” Cora said recently. “Nothing to be alert. But be smart about it.”
Asked if it’s a case of dead arm, Cora said, “Yeah, basically.”
The Red Sox could consider shutting Houck down for the remainder of the season if their playoff odds continue to dwindle. Thursday’s extra-innings loss to the Yankees dropped the Sox to 4½ games behind the Twins for the third and final American League wild card spot and they’re still behind the Tigers and Mariners, too. Houck is set to pitch three more times with 15 games left in the year.
Houck has been Boston’s best starter this year. He owns a 3.24 ERA. He has faced the Yankees twice, posting a 3.86 ERA in 9 ⅓ innings in those outings.
