The evolution of Tanner Houck
Sure, the Red Sox probably didn't need Tanner Houck to be as good as he was Thursday night in Chicago.
Boston did, after all, score 14 runs while knocking out 24 hits against a team that in the White Sox that has now lost 14 straight. But what the outing in the Red Sox' 14-2 win is take stock in what Alex Cora and Co. has uncovered in their new go-to guy.
This Red Sox team needed an ace, and that's exactly what Houck has become.
An ace is defined by some as a starting pitcher who protects the bullpen the day before his start, the day of his start, and the day after start. In other words, a pitcher who you have a pretty good idea of what he is going to deliver. That is the image Houck has represented.
For starters, he leads all pitchers in innings pitched (85), having now thrown seven innings in three of his last four starts. This time it was a seven-inning, two-run outing that didn't see the White Sox collect a hit until the sixth inning.
At a time where the Red Sox' starters have taken somewhat of a downturn compared to the first month-or-so of the season, Houck has served as the anchor with his team winning in each of his last four outings.
Even in the five losses Houck has pitched in, all of them has seen him go at least 5 2/3 innings, with the righty managing a 3.86 ERA during the defeats.
This one could have been put in cruise control with anybody on the mound, with the likes of Jamie Westbrook (first career home run) and Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela (each notching 4 hits) easily highlighting the rout.
But what it really offered was yet another reminder that Houck has become perhaps the most important piece of the Red Sox' puzzle.