April 10, 2018 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Houck impresses during debut in Salem
4/10 Cup of Coffee: Tanner Houck made his debut in Salem in the Red Sox’ 6-2 win over the Wilmington Blue Rocks. Although the 2017 first round draft pick didn’t factor in the decision, he did enough across four innings of work to help the Red Sox win. Ryan Scott had three hits while Hunter Smith recorded the win. The other three teams in action lost. Ryan Brasier got the loss in relief for the PawSox while Kyle Hart was roughed up in the Sea Dogs defeat and Alex Scherff took the loss for the Drive.
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Jalen Beeks gave up one run in four innings of work while striking out eight, but the Bisons scored the game-winning run in the top of the 12th to hand the PawSox their second loss of the season. Ryan Brasier took the loss, giving up two hits and one unearned run in 3 2/3 innings of relief. He struck out four. Aneury Tavarez was the lone player with two hits for the PawSox as he went 2 for 5 with a run, double, RBI, and a walk.
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Two runs in the top of the fifth cut the Sea Dogs deficit to just one but neither team scored from there on out as the Sea Dogs lost their fourth straight to start the season. Esteban Quiroz’ RBI single up the middle scored Cole Sturgeon (1 for 3, run, RBI) and Danny Mars (3 for 4, two runs, RBI) to make it 6-5 but the Sea Dogs went on to record 13 straight outs at the plate. Kyle Hart was roughed up for 11 hits and six runs, all earned, over 3 2/3 innings of work and took the loss for the Sea Dogs.
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The Red Sox scored six unanswered runs and had 11 hits overall in a victory over the Blue Rocks. Ryan Scott (3 for 4, RBI), Brett Netzer (2 for 4, run, RBI) and Jerry Downs (2 for 4, run) all had multi-hit games for the Red Sox. Tanner Houck (pictured) pitched four innings of two-run ball, allowing four hits while striking out four in his minor-league debut with Salem. Hunter Smith got the win for the Red Sox while Joan Martinez recorded the save.
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Alex Scherff allowed six runs, five earned, on five hits in five innings of work in his first loss of the season. Angel Padron pitched three innings of relief, giving up two runs, one earned, on two hits while striking out four. The Drive held a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning before the Legends plated four runs in the bottom half of the inning. CJ Chatham went 2 for 4 with a run and a double and raised his average to .412.
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Player of the Day: Although he didn’t factor in the decision, Tanner Houck, the 2017 first-round draft pick out of the University of Missouri, was impressive in his first start of the year. The 6-foot-5 right-hander threw 46 of his 90 pitches for strikes and struck out four in four innings of work. In 10 starts with Lowell last season, the 21-year-old struck out 25 in 22 1/3 innings on the way to an 0-3 record and a 3.63 ERA.
Photo Credit: Tanner Houck by Kelly O'Connor