Red Sox starter had blunt explanation for horrendous outing vs. Padres

Boston Red Sox starter Tanner Houck has been far and away the team's best pitcher throughout their 2024 campaign, but on Saturday, he struggled mightily.

Over just 4 1/3 innings against the San Diego Padres, Houck allowed eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits and one walk, leading to Boston's 11-1 loss, their third in a row.

After the game, Houck has a brief explanation for what happened.

“I just left too many pitches (over the middle),” Houck said ( via. MassLive ). “Other than that, just kind of sucked.”

Red Sox manager Alex Cora isn't worried about the outing.

“I mean, it’s going to happen, right?” Cora said. “The great ones have bad games. Today, the slider wasn’t great. They put up some good at-bats...They’re a good offensive club and they did a good job against him.”

Prior to the game, Houck had been a top candidate to start the All-Star Game for the American League, but this start may knock him out of contention.