COLUMBIA, Mo. – Former Mizzou Baseball RHP Tanner Houck earned his MLB debut Tuesday (Sept. 15) with the Boston Red Sox and received rave reviews following a dominant performance. The Collinsville, Illinois, native earned the win for Boston after posting 5.0 shutout frames with seven strikeouts. Houck limited the Miami Marlins offense to only two hits.
“Big game, big (first) impression. It was something we needed,” Boston Red Sox manager Rob Roenicke said. “We needed to see a starter go like that and throw up all those zeroes. Pretty cool.”
Houck’s fantastic outing was the best for a Red Sox starter making his MLB debut since Eduardo Rodriguez tossed 7.2 shutout innings at Texas five years ago (May 28, 2015).
“Getting that win was truly amazing,” Houck said. “The guys went out there and did what they had to do. Swinging the bat, they did absolutely everything they could, and then the bullpen coming in was amazing. But for me, getting to go out there, getting to warm up the first time, definitely had the heart pounding a little bit more than usual. It was a surreal moment.”
Prior to his big league debut Tuesday evening, Houck received congratulations and words of encouragement from a slew of former Mizzou Baseball alums who also made the major leagues.
