Tanner Houck makes frustrations clear after admitting ‘not getting the job done’ in tough 2025 season

Finishing the 2024 campaign with a 3.12 ERA and 154 total strikeouts, Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Tanner Houck enjoyed arguably the best season of his big league career, earning his first-ever All-Star selection.

Heading into 2025, many were excited to see how Houck would continue to improve, as he was set to be the No. 2 pitcher in the Red Sox's pitching arsenal, behind newly acquired ace Garrett Crochet.

However, much to the disappointment of the team's fans, he has struggled this season, faring even worse than what the most pessimistic fans would have imagined.

Addressing his struggles, Houck said he "feels lost" about what has gone wrong for him, according to MLB insider Chris Cotillo on X.

"Probably the most lost I’ve ever been," Houck said on Monday. "I’m just not getting the job done, which weighs on my heavily."

Expand Tweet

Houck added that his situation weighs heavily on him off the field.

Tanner Houck breaks unwanted record with nightmare outing against the Detroit Tigers

Tanner Houck gave up eleven earned runs in only 2.1 innings on Monday, as the Boston Red Sox faced the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. The game ended 14-2 to the hosts.

Houck broke an unwanted MLB record, becoming the first pitcher in big league history to allow eleven or more runs in starts that lasted less than three innings, on two separate occasions during the same season. The first was when Houck took the mound against the Tampa Bay Rays in April.

Texas Rangers v Boston Red Sox - Source: Getty

With Walker Buehler set to return from injury soon, there is a good chance that Monday's outing in Detroit is the last time fans will see Houck for a while, as the Red Sox coaching staff would likely work with him to regain his confidence before he is sent to the mound again.

About the author

Raghav Mehta is a baseball journalist at Sportskeeda awaiting results for a Bachelor's in Journalism from Delhi University. He enjoys highlighting the key battles between players at different stages of the game and analyzing the decisive moments upon which they hinge.

One of Raghav's favorite moments, which underscores this, was the Shohei Ohtani vs. Mike Trout clash in the 2023 WBC, where two of baseball's best players faced off against each other in the 9th inning. With the score 3-2 to Japan, Shohei eventually got the strikeout, which was absolute cinema.

Raghav is a Baltimore Orioles fan and is enjoying watching such an exciting young team compete at the top in a very competitive division.

Raghav has loved watching sports for as long as he can remember and realized he was pretty decent at writing his thoughts down at around the age of 14. Combining the two meant he had something he would enjoy doing every day, and he had identified that well before going to college.

Aside from work, Raghav enjoys playing sports, working out and watching movies.

Know More

Edited by Victor Ramon Galvez