Tanner Houck introduced himself to Red Sox fans last week with a strong -- and charitable -- Major League debut. On Sunday, he introduced himself to Fenway Park with an even better performance against his team’s archrival.
Houck took a no-hitter into the sixth and ended up allowing an unearned
Tanner Houck introduced himself to Red Sox fans last week with a strong -- and charitable -- Major League debut. On Sunday, he introduced himself to Fenway Park with an even better performance against his team’s archrival.
Houck took a no-hitter into the sixth and ended up allowing an unearned run on one hit over six frames as Boston ended a 12-game losing streak against the Yankees with a 10-2 romp.
"Great experience," Houck told reporters. "It's a great rivalry that I remember watching growing up, so being able to be a part of it was truly amazing."
The 10th-ranked Red Sox prospect dealt with some unorthodox traffic early but never let New York break through. After hitting Luke Voit with one out in the first, he got Aaron Hicks to bounce into a double play. Following a 1-2-3 second, Clint Frazier reached on a throwing error by third baseman Rafael Devers to open the third but was erased on another double play off the bat of Gary Sanchez. Houck stranded Tyler Wade after a two-out walk.
The University of Missouri product cruised through the fourth, then issued a leadoff walk to Gleyber Torres in the fifth before retiring Brett Gardner on a fly ball to left field and striking out Frazier and Sanchez.
Houck’s lone blemish came in the sixth. Wade doubled to right to break up the no-hit bid and took third on a passed ball by Christian Vazquez. DJ LeMahieu walked and Wade scored on a double play by Voit. Hicks grounded out to end the right-hander's afternoon.
"I was mostly focused on making my pitch and continuing to follow the game plan," Houck said of the no-hitter. "All props to the guys behind me making some unbelievable plays out there. All credit to them."
The 2017 first-round pick threw 48 of 85 pitches for strikes, fanning four while walking three.
Five days ago in his Major League debut at Miami, Houck (2-0) struck out seven in a 2-0 win and contributed money to charity for each of his K’s.
Sunday’s win came against Deivi Garcia, MLB Pipeline's No. 92 overall prospect. The 21-year-old was roughed up for six runs on eight hits and a walk with two strikeouts over three innings.
Third-ranked Red Sox prospect Bobby Dalbec slugged his seventh homer of the season, singled and scored twice.
In other action:
Rangers 7, Angels 2
Sam Huff, the No. 70 prospect in the game, teed off for his first Major League homer against lefty Patrick Sandoval in the fourth inning. The second-ranked Texas prospect struck out in his other three at-bats. Leody Taveras , the club’s No. 3 prospect, went 0-for-4 but walked and scored a run. No. 7 Anderson Tejeda belted his third big league homer off starter Julio Teheran in the second. Tenth-ranked Sherten Apostel , who entered as an injury replacement for Ronald Guzman in the fifth, went 0-for-2. No. 25 Kyle Cody picked up his first win in The Show after giving up one run on three hits over five frames. The 26-year-old righty struck out five and didn’t issue any walks. Box score
Marlins 2, Nationals 1 (1st game)
Luis Garcia, Washington's top prospect, collected a pair of knocks for the second straight game. He's batting .311/.330/.415 through 31 games. Box score
Nationals 15, Marlins 0 (2nd game)
Luis Garcia entered the game as a defensive replacement at shortstop in the fifth. The 20-year-old laced a double into the gap in right-center and scored in the sixth to raise his average to .318. No. 23 Ben Braymer earned the victory in his first big league start after yielding one hit and three walks while fanning four over five scoreless frames. The southpaw sports a 1.23 ERA over three appearances this year. No. 24 James Bourque exited with an apparent injury after yielding a double to Starling Marte, the only batter he faced in the sixth. Miami’s fourth-ranked prospect Jazz Chisholm finished 0-for-2, while No. 7 Braxton Garrett took the loss after getting tagged for five runs -- four earned -- on five hits and three walks with a pair of whiffs over 2 2/3 innings. Top-ranked Nick Neidert yielded five runs on seven hits over a pair of frames. Box score
Cardinals 2, Pirates 1
Top St. Louis prospect Dylan Carlson led off the third with a double down the line in right. No. 18 Justin Williams worked a seven-pitch walk in the fifth and exited the game in the seventh. Box score
Orioles 2, Rays 1
No. 16 O's prospect Hunter Harvey struck out two in 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. He's given up one earned run over seven innings in seven appearances in September. Fifth-ranked Ryan Mountcastle went 0-for-4 but is batting .330/.389/.530 as Baltimore tries to stay in the race for an American League Wild Card spot. Box score
Indians 7, Tigers 4
No. 6 Tigers prospect Isaac Paredes went 1-for-4 with a single and a run scored out of the ninth spot in the lineup. After seeing his average slip to .155 on Sept. 11, Paredes has hit in seven straight games and eight of his last nine to lift that mark to .203. Rony Garcia, Detroit's No. 30 prospect, turned in his best relief outing of the season, striking out two and working around a walk in two hitless frames. Box score
Blue Jays 6, Phillies 3
Blue Jays No. 22 prospect Thomas Hatch gave up two unearned runs on two hits and a walk while striking out one in the seventh. Fifth-ranked Philadelphia prospect Adonis Medina took the loss in his Major League debut. The 23-year-old righty allowed two runs on three hits and three walks while fanning four in four frames. In his third game, Phils No. 7 prospect Rafael Marchan went 1-for-2 with a walk. Box score
Astros 3, D-backs 2
Blake Taylor, Houston’s 23rd-ranked prospect, notched his second win by recording a pair of outs. The southpaw worked around a hit and whiffed one to lower his ERA to 1.27. D-backs No. 3 prospect Daulton Varsho did not collect a hit in three trips to the plate, while No. 28 Pavin Smith notched a pair of knocks and scored in his second multi-hit effort in the big leagues. Box score
Reds 7, White Sox 3
No. 37 overall prospect Nick Madrigal posted his ninth multi-hit game for the White Sox. He beat out a single to third base in the first and drove in Luis Robert with a knock to second in the fifth. The 23-year-old also got hit by a pitch and was caught stealing in the third. This year’s 11th overall Draft pick, Garrett Crochet, allowed one hit in a scoreless eighth in his second big league appearance. The club’s No. 4 prospect hasn’t allowed a run over two innings. Reds No. 6 prospect Jose Garcia came on as a pinch-runner in the eighth. Box score
Giants 14, A’s 2
Luis Alexander Basabe , San Francisco’s No. 18 prospect, picked up his first big league RBI with a single to right field in the ninth inning. The 24-year-old right fielder also walked, stole a base and scored on a homer by Chadwick Tromp in the third. Box score
Rockies 6, Dodgers 3
No. 18 Rockies prospect Josh Fuentes recorded his second three-hit performance in the past three games. The 27-year-old went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a pair of runs scored. Zach McKinstry, Los Angeles’ 19th-ranked prospect, collected his first big league knocks -- a double and a single -- and scored once. No. 20 Victor Gonzalez worked around a pair of hits while retiring two batters. Box score
Brewers 5, Royals 3
Royals No. 21 prospect Edward Olivares picked up his first hit in five games, lining a single to center field to start the third inning. He’s batting .233 in 27 contests. No. 27 Kelvin Gutierrez ran for Maikel Franco in the ninth and advanced to second base on a wild pitch but was left stranded. Box score
Padres 7, Mariners 4 (11 innings)
Oakland’s No. 10 prospect Jorge Mateo pinch-ran for the designated runner in the 10th and scored on a single by Fernando Tatis Jr. Seattle starter Justin Dunn, the club's No. 8 prospect, gave up three runs on two hits and four walks while striking out six over 5 2/3 innings. Box score
Tyler Maun is a reporter for MiLB.com and co-host of “The Show Before The Show” podcast. You can find him on Twitter @tylermaun.
