Houck shines again, bullpen does not
Casas has fractured rib injury
The Cleveland Guardians had all week to prepare for Tanner Houck. After getting shredded by the 27-year-old right-hander in last week’s complete game shutout, the Guardians presumably studied the data, made their adjustments and came into Tuesday with a new plan of attack.
For most of the night, it didn’t work.
Houck was excellent once again, shutting the Guardians down over six-plus innings, but he eventually ran out of gas and got little support from the depleted Red Sox offense in the club’s eventual 4-1 loss.
Cleveland’s decisive breakthrough came in the bottom of the seventh. Trailing 1-0 after Houck tied them up through six scoreless innings, the Guardians tied the game with a leadoff double by Will Brennan and an RBI single by Tyler Freeman. Houck was pulled after subsequently walking Estevan Florial, and the Guardians touched the Red Sox bullpen for three runs to put the game away.
Houck was charged with two runs on five hits, three walks and four strikeouts over six-plus innings. Before the seventh inning he had posted 15 consecutive scoreless innings against the Guardians, and his ERA for the season is now 1.65.
“He did an amazing job,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “He’s earning the right to go deep into games. There’s no baby gloves here. He was throwing the ball well, the split that he hung and a slider down the middle and that was it, but overall another great outing.”
Despite the chilly, rainy conditions that threatened throughout the afternoon, the game flew by as Houck and Cleveland starter Ben Lively went toe to toe. Neither side was able to score until the top of the seventh, when Wilyer Abreu broke the ice with a solo home run to deep right field.
That gave Houck his first lead of the day, but Cleveland finally mustered some resistance after Brennan and Freeman came through to tie the game at 1-1. Houck then walked Florial, ending his day, and left-hander Brennan Bernardino walked his first batter to load the bases with no outs.
Brayan Rocchio put Cleveland ahead with a sacrifice fly to left, and while the Guardians couldn’t get any more runs across in the seventh, they got two more in the eighth on a solo home run by Jose Ramirez and an RBI double by Florial off lefthander Cam Booser.
That set the stage for AllStar closer Emmanuel Clase, who shut the Red Sox down with three straight strikeouts in the top of the ninth for his seventh save of the season.
All told the Red Sox managed only six hits, struck out 12 times, went 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position and were undone by numerous baserunning blunders, including Rob Refsnyder and Connor Wong both getting picked off at first base. Refsnyder did go 3 for 3 with a double, giving him four doubles through his first four games of the season since coming off the injured list.
The Red Sox are now 13-11 on the season, but 1-4 against the Guardians, who own baseball’s best record at 176. Cooper Criswell (0-1, 4.26 ERA) will get the start Tuesday against Cleveland’s Carlos Carrasco (1-1, 3.44).
Casas has fractured rib
Cora provided a discouraging update on Triston Casas’ injury, telling reporters in Cleveland that the first baseman has a fractured rib and will miss an extended period of time.
“He has a fracture so he’ll be out for a while,” Cora said, as transcribed by MLB. com’s Ian Browne. “Obviously we had a pretty good idea a few days ago but after all the tests in Boston, that’s what came out. We just have to be patient now. Timetable? There’s none. This has to heal on its own. We’ve just got to be patient.”
Casas was placed on the injured list with what was originally described as a “left rib strain” on Sunday after leaving Saturday’s game after one at bat. Following the game Cora expressed immediate concern, and now it appears the Red Sox could be without their up-and-coming first baseman for a long time.
Even amid this season’s early run of injuries, losing Casas is a particularly devastating blow. Through the first three weeks of the season the 24-year-old had already hit six home runs and posted a .857 OPS. Cora said Bobby Dalbec will get the majority of the playing time at first base going forward, despite the fact Dalbec is currently 1 for 32 (.031) on the season through his first 15 games.
If the Red Sox decide to seek outside alternatives, a number of players could become available in next week following the upcoming May 1 opt out window. Another possibility is veteran first baseman Garrett Cooper, who the Chicago Cubs designed for assignment on Tuesday. The 33-year-old is batting .270 through 12 games and was an All-Star in 2022 with the Miami Marlins.
O’Neill activated
The Red Sox lineup got a major boost on Tuesday as outfielder Tyler O’Neill was activated from the seven-day injured list.
O’Neill hadn’t played since last Monday after getting involved in a scary collision in shallow left field with Rafael Devers. The outfielder suffered a deep gash above his left eye that required eight stitches to close and was subsequently placed on the IL after experiencing concussion symptoms. Prior to the injury O’Neill had been one of the hottest hitters in baseball, batting .313 with seven home runs and a 1.209 OPS. He batted third Tuesday and went 1 for 4 with a single.
To make room on the active roster for the returning O’Neill, the Red Sox placed catcher Tyler Heineman on the 10-day IL with a right hamstring strain. That move was retroactive to April 22.
Cora said after Tuesday’s game that Devers, who missed his fifth straight game with knee discomfort, will play on Wednesday.
Jacques claimed
Left-hander Joe Jacques, who the Red Sox designated for assignment on Friday, has been claimed off waivers by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Jacques appeared in one game for the Red Sox this season, allowing one run in 1.2 innings of work, and overall he has a 5.08 ERA in 28.1 career innings in the big leagues.