Boston has first complete game shutout since Wacha’s in 2022
Pitching feat was the first at Red Sox's Fenway Park in nearly seven years
BOSTON — Tanner Houck pitched a three-hitter with nine strikeouts for Boston’s first complete-game shutout at Fenway Park in nearly seven years, and the Red Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians, 2-0, on Wednesday night.
Former Pleasant Grove standout Michael Wacha was the last Red Sox pitcher to complete this feat back in 2022, but it was on the road and not at Fenway Park. He tossed a three-hitter in a 1-0 win at the Los Angeles Angels on June 6, 2022. No pitcher had accomplished this at home for the Red Sox since Brian Johnson threw a five-hitter against Seattle on May 27, 2017.
Liberty-eylau graduate Will Middlebrooks, who is a World Series champion with the Red Sox, believes tossing a complete game now is harder than it was in the past.
“In today’s game, complete games just don’t happen very much,” Middlebrooks told the Texarkana Gazette on Thursday. “Teams are much more aware of the pitcher’s health, which means lower pitch counts, and not letting players pitch deeper into games. Also, bullpen arms are much more advanced in this day and agate.”
Middlebrooks, who now works as an analyst for NESN covering the Red Sox, also points out how bullpen arms are much more advanced in this day. He says those guys that come in behind the starters aren’t your inferior arms that you just put out in the bullpen, but are guys that are “legit pitchers with legit stuff,” and are paid high salaries to get outs in high leverage situations.
“The analytics that run today’s game will tell you to make a pitching change in the fifth or sixth inning purely based on matchups,” he said. “A starter has to have special stuff for a manager to throw all the analytics out the window and to go with the old school eye test.”
Houck (3-1) threw 69 of 94 pitches for strikes in his first career complete game, which took just 1 hour, 49 minutes. It was the fastest nine-inning game in the majors since Armando Galarraga’s near-perfect game for Detroit against Cleveland took 1:44 on June 2, 2010.
“I think this is one of those nights where you probably get one, maybe two of these a season, if you’re lucky,” said Houck, adding it was the best he’s ever felt on a major league mound. “It’s where you just go out there and you feel like you can do no wrong. You can throw no wrong pitch in any count. So, I truly feel blessed to go up there and just help this team win.”
Houck walked none and finished one short of his season high for strikeouts. The 27-year-old right-hander lowered his ERA to 1.35 after four starts in his fifth big league season.
“I don’t know if he could pitch much better than he did tonight,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “You’ve got to tip your cap. That was an outstanding performance by him. Every pitch, didn’t throw anything over the heart of the plate. I think the two pitches he did, we got hits on,
“A starter has to have special stuff for a manager to throw all the analytics out the window and to go with the old school eye test.”
—Will Middlebrooks, Liberty-eylau graduate
but just tip your cap.”
“Just throwing strikes with good stuff,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “There was never a thought of going to the bullpen, to be honest with you. That was his game and whatever happens, happens. He was really good.”
Wong connected off Lively (0-1) with two outs in the fourth.
“Lively was outstanding as well,” Vogt said. “He threw the ball great, was efficient. Did his job, got us five. Couldn’t be more thrilled with the way Ben threw the ball. It was an outstanding, outstanding job by him.”
Lively, making his Guardians debut after signing as a free agent in December and then starting the season on the injured list with a viral illness, was called for a balk in the third with runners on second and third. It was the right-hander’s first balk since his rookie season of 2017 with Philadelphia.
“It just felt great getting out there and getting fired up again,” Lively said. “You see (Houck’s performance), you’re like, ‘Hell yeah, let’s go. Me and you are going toe to toe right now.’ It gets me fired up and ready to get back out there, too.”
After leaving Tuesday’s game with left knee discomfort, Rafael Devers was in the Boston lineup at designated hitter rather than third base. He went hitless in four at-bats with three strikeouts.
Steven Kwan was 0 for 4 for Cleveland, snapping his eightgame hitting streak.
“We win tomorrow and we save the series,” Cora said. “We all know we’re where at. The bullpen needed it, we all needed it. It was great.”