ARLINGTON, Texas — For weeks, Red Sox manager Alex Cora has preached the importance of the team’s young starters getting over the hump and pitching deeper into ballgames. Kutter Crawford did so Monday, completing six innings in a comeback win. Tanner Houck couldn’t provide a similar performance Tuesday night against the Rangers.
Houck lasted just 4+ innings, putting a heavy workload on a Boston bullpen that squandered an early lead as the Rangers came back to win, 6-4, at Globe Life Field. Josh Jung’s RBI single off John Schreiber in the bottom of the seventh put the Rangers ahead for good. The Red Sox fell back to two games under .500 at 75-77.
Houck looked sharp early against former teammate Nathan Eovaldi, save for an Adolis García solo homer in the second that opened the scoring. The Red Sox stormed ahead by tagging their former ace for three runs in a busy third. Eovaldi walked Bobby Dalbec, hit Luis Urías with a pitch, then issued a one-out walk to Rafael Devers before Justin Turner tied the game on a hard-hit fielder’s choice to third base. The scuffling Masataka Yoshida put the Sox ahead with a two-run single up the middle.
Houck ran into trouble in the fifth, issuing back-to-back walks to set the table for Marcus Semien, who followed up a two-RBI performance in the series opener by tying the game with an RBI single. Lefty Brennan Bernardino finished the inning for Houck, getting a strikeout and a double play to avoid further trouble.
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Houck was tagged for two runs on three hits while tallying four strikeouts and four walks. He threw just 49 of his 89 pitches for strikes.
Texas tied the game, then went ahead, against Llovera in the sixth. The righty got two fast outs then walked García before Jonah Heim brought him home with an RBI double that made it 3-3. Taveras then made it a 4-3 game with a single to center.
In the top of the seventh, Boston drew back even. With one out, Dalbec doubled and Urías walked before Corey Seager threw away a potential inning-ending double play ball, allowing the tying run to score. In the bottom of the frame, Chris Murphy hit Semien with a pitch and allowed a Seager single before departing with one out. Jung laced an RBI single up the middle to make it 5-4; Schreiber handed some insurance to Texas with a two-out walk of Heim.
The Red Sox scattered just five hits in the defeat. José Leclerc shut the door on Boston with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Bello gets finale Wednesday
Right-hander Brayan Bello will finish off Boston’s road trip with a start in Wednesday’s matinee series finale. The Rangers will counter with righty Jon Gray. First pitch is at 2:05 p.m. ET.
The Sox will then head home for their final homestand of the season, which starts with a three-game weekend series against the White Sox after a day off Thursday. Chris Sale, Nick Pivetta and Kutter Crawford will pitch for the Sox against Chicago.
