Tanner Houck continues to progress in his rehab stint, and he took another positive step on Wednesday.
The Boston Red Sox pitcher tossed 4⅓ innings and allowed one earned run on three hits. Houck, whose velocity improved, racked six strikeouts, walked two batters and threw 76 pitches in the Worcester Red Sox’ loss to the Rochester Red Wings.
Houck has been on the 15-day injured list since May with a right flexor pronator strain.
The right-hander’s rehab stint got off to a rough start. Houck’s first three starts left much to be desired. In his first rehab start June 18, Houck allowed one run on two hits and one walk. His second start included giving up four earned runs on three hits. During Houck’s third outing, he gave up four earned runs —including a solo home run— on seven hits with a walk and three strikeouts in 3⅔ innings.
But Houck began to turn things around last week when he pitched for Double-A Portland when he threw five scoreless innings.
It’s unclear what’s next for Houck.
“Obviously, it’s a tricky situation with the All-Star break,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said last week. “Nobody’s playing around that time. There’s no minor league baseball either. We’ll talk about it and decide what we do.”
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