Red Sox Minor Lines 7/4: Tanner Houck solid in rehab start in Portland

Hope you had a happy holiday; the farm did not, as they’re now 1-7 in the last two days. A couple notable characters took 95 north up to Maine for the next couple of weeks, so let’s get into it!

Worcester: L, 0-4 (BOX SCORE)

It was a bullpen game for the WooSox against the Mets in Syracuse, and they looked pretty solid, striking out twelve; the only pitcher to let one out of the park was Bryan Mata. Sadly, it was that three-run ball that was all the difference, since even without it, it’s hard to win when you don’t score any runs. Worcester had just four hits on the night, two coming off the bat of leadoff man Kristian Campbell, who has shifted back to second base. The WooSox were also rung up twelve times on the night and stranded ten men, another difficult thing to win with.

Portland: L, 1-7 (BOX SCORE)

The farm’s lone victor on Independence Day, the Sea Dogs were fueled by some new additions for the weekend facing the Fisher Cats (Jays AA). Tanner Houck pitched five strong scoreless innings, allowing three hits without a walk and striking out four, and Peyton Tolle carried the game the rest of the way for his first save (since, ya know, he’s a rotation guy) striking out eight and allowing just two hits, one of those being a solo shot accounting for New Hampshire’s only run. I don’t know about you, but to me, one run is fine if you strike out eight in four innings…

Especially with some run support, which the Sea Dogs provided plenty of due to some (don’t say fireworks, don’t say fireworks, don’t say fireworks) potent at-bats from Mikey Romero! The leadoff man went 2-for-5 and notched his eighth home run of the season, driving in four of Portland’s seven runs. Romero’s OPS improves to a stout .854. Masataka Yoshida added a hit of his own and Allen Castro and Max Ferguson gave the team some spark at the plate, as well; the former had two hits and the latter had the team’s only other extra-base hit.

If you’re wondering why Yoshida and Houck were demoted in their rehab efforts, it was likely because the WooSox are out in Syracuse and the guys can access Portland easier. (Insert joke about the bus taking their luggage for a week due to a callup a la Roman Anthony here.) That Houck looked much better facing a lineup that wasn’t exactly murderer’s row in Double-A than he did in Triple-A may be telling, but with the WooSox being away until after the All-Star break, this may be all we get to see from him before he shows up at Fenway after the All-Star break.

Greenville: L, 4-11 (BOX SCORE)

Noah Dean had probably his worst outing in the farm, getting tagged for six earned runs on seven hits in eight outs. The Drive also allowed eleven Asheville (Astros High-A) walks, and only five of those were from Dean, so overall a tough night for control on the mound. Greenville stranded nine on the night, Greenville’s first three runs were scored via a fielding error, so Albert Feliz’s third home run of 2025, a solo homer, was Greenville’s only RBI on Friday.

It’s rare to get a three-hit night from an eight-hole hitter, but Salem will certainly take it if it comes, as Karim Ayubi went 3-for-4 with a double in Lynchburg (Guardians A). Unfortunately, he was stranded all three times, in a total of eight men left on base for Salem, the theme of the night across the farm. Ben Hansen had a good night on the mound, but just didn’t go long enough, and Austin Ehrlicher had a forgettable three innings, though the winning run was given up by Nicolas De La Cruz. In the end though, it’s tough to win when you go 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

Have a happy Saturday!