Red Sox takeaways: Astros sweep, Tanner Houck surgery, Marcelo Mayer limbo

New York Times

3 days ago

BOSTON — Each of the last three years, the Boston Red Sox have posted a losing record from Aug. 1 through the end of the season, battling injuries and inconsistency down the stretch.
That made a sweep of the Houston Astros this weekend, in the first series coming out of the trade deadline, all the more important as the Red Sox vie for a postseason spot.
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'It's big,' shortstop Trevor Story said. 'Feels like every win at this point late in the year is huge.'
A commanding 6-1 win Sunday gave the Red Sox five wins in a row and six in their last seven. Now in second place in the American League East and holding on to the top AL wild-card spot, having leapfrogged the New York Yankees on Saturday, the Red Sox are playing with confidence at the most important time.
'We've got a complete team,' manager Alex Cora said. 'Guys are playing with an edge now, you can tell.'
It wasn't just that the Red Sox swept the AL Central-leading Astros, it was how they did it. Friday's walk-off win in 10 innings was the closest game as the Red Sox outscored Houston 15-4 in the next two.
'You want to handle business with teams that aren't performing well this year, but when it comes to top-of-division teams, whether it be AL or NL, it's about continuing to play hard games,' said Lucas Giolito, who held Houston to one run over eight innings Sunday.
The Red Sox did not add a No. 2 starter at the deadline, but Giolito has proved he, in addition to Brayan Bello, is up for the task. He noted the spark keeping the club together at the deadline has given the team.
'Especially with how we've been playing, I think it's important to keep the group together and keep everyone jelled together and firing on all cylinders,' he said.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow wasn't ready to take a victory lap after one series sweep post-trade deadline but was pleased with the team's performance.
'It's a really resilient group that's confident in each other and coming together at exactly the right time in exactly the right way,' Breslow said. 'I think there's a lot to be excited about and reason for optimism. We've got to go out and keep playing the way that we do. But I'm not sure there was going to be a ton that was or wasn't going to happen coming out in the deadline that was going to kind of knock these guys off the path they're on.'
Gio's day through 8 ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/UtlKu5Li1w
— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 3, 2025
Though Tanner Houck hadn't pitched since May, the Red Sox starting pitching depth took another hit this weekend as the team announced Houck is headed for Tommy John surgery this week.
The 29-year-old, who posted an 8.04 ERA in nine starts, last pitched May 12 before landing on the injured list with a flexor pronator strain. He built back up to rehab games in June and early July, but around the All-Star break, he wasn't bouncing back as well from each outing, and a second MRI showed further damage.
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'A little bit surprised,' Breslow said of Houck's surgery diagnosis. 'Just because it seemed like he was making progress through the rehab process and stuff was good, felt like we were turning the corner.'
Houck said he felt great in early July, thinking the inflammation from the first MRI had subsided, but that changed by the break with discomfort in his hand and triceps necessitating a second MRI.
'(The MRI) showed it got worse, definitely,' Houck said. 'The flexor was torn a good bit, but just didn't feel right throwing.'
Houck contemplated alternate routes with stem cell injections, but ultimately decided the full surgery was his best chance of recovering stronger. He's hoping to return by the second half of 2026 with a 12-to-14-month timetable.
The Red Sox are far from the only team that's dealt with the rise of pitcher injuries, but it's something they're looking into to mitigate in the future. Houck made a career-high 30 starts with a 3.78 ERA last season in an All-Star year, but struggled from the start this season. The Red Sox had three homegrown starters in Houck, Bello and Kutter Crawford pitch 30 or more starts last season, a point of pride for the team. But now Houck is done for the year, and so is Crawford after wrist surgery last month. Bello is having a strong season with a 3.19 ERA but missed the first three weeks of the season with shoulder inflammation.
It's forced the Red Sox to reconsider how they train and prepare their pitchers, something Breslow discussed with The Athletic in June.
'Do we think the workload that they took on last year had an impact on their performance this year? The answer is maybe,' Breslow said at the time.
As for the team's current starter depth, Breslow noted newcomer Dustin May, who will make his first start for the team Wednesday, along with Cooper Criswell, Richard Fitts, Kyle Harrison and newly promoted Triple-A pitchers David Sandlin and Connelly Early as options.
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'Harrison has made some really promising changes to the repertoire,' Breslow assessed. 'The last couple outings have been headed in the right direction.'
Sandlin and Early could be long relief bullpen options in September as teams often call up rookies at that point in the season to get their feet wet in the majors while also limiting their innings and workload. Breslow noted Sandlin, in particular, as an option for that kind of promotion.
'Sandlin is a guy that comes to mind in that it's really power stuff and simplified approach,' Breslow said, noting the right-hander's upper-90s fastball. 'We feel like he can come in and overwhelm hitters with the stuff. Those conversations are ongoing.'
Though Houck is done for the year, the team is expecting a late-season boost to the bullpen in the form of reliever Justin Slaten.
Slaten has been sidelined since June 1 with right shoulder/nerve inflammation but has started to turn a corner throwing a bullpen Saturday. He'll throw another bullpen midweek.
'We know what he can bring when he's healthy and contributing in the back end of bullpens,' Breslow said.
Liam Hendriks, however, is still just playing catch and will likely not have enough time to return this year from a hip/core injury.
In an effort to return to the field sooner, Mayer, who's been out since July 25 with a wrist sprain, received an anti-inflammatory injection Saturday. After a 72-hour rest period, Mayer will resume baseball activities to see whether the injection helped with the pain.
'Obviously, we're all optimistic (the injection will work), that's the reason that he's going with this path,' Breslow said. 'We believe that it gives him the best chance to get back on the field this season. And I think it's a credit to him to try to do anything he can to get back in.'
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Asked whether surgery was the next option, Breslow preferred to wait to see how Mayer responds.
Meanwhile, almost exactly three months since Triston Casas' knee surgery, Breslow offered one of the first updates in a few months on Casas.
'He's doing really well and moving around well,' Breslow said. 'He's in the weight room and in the training room every day. I think he's feeling more confident. There was probably this period after he got the surgery where he wondered what the road back looks like. But just given his ability to move around and start to bear weight on both legs, he's in a really, really good place physically and mentally.'
Casas is not close to baseball activity but continues to build up strength in his lower half. He had originally set a goal to be ready by Opening Day, but Breslow was hesitant to put pressure on a date of return for Casas, noting his steady progress as the main factor.
'He's hitting every benchmark along the line,' Breslow said.
In Triple-A Worcester, Kristian Campbell exited Saturday's game after jamming his thumb on an inside pitch. He'd been riding a 13-game hitting streak (19-for-48, .396) but was out of Sunday's lineup.
Breslow said he's day to day but wasn't overly concerned. He was encouraged by Campbell's strides in Worcester.
'I think we've seen some of the results over the last week and a half or so, where he is starting to impact the ball a little bit more comfortably and is more confident on defense,' Breslow said. 'We knew it would be a little bit of a process. We've all seen up here the ability for other teams to exploit weaknesses or opportunities a little bit more quickly and more frequently than maybe it happens in the minor leagues. So, there was no question he was going to go down there, put his head down and get to work. And that's what we're seeing. And it's nice to see some promising results.'
(Photo of Lucas Giolito: Winslow Townson / Getty Images)