Tanner Houck and the Red Sox have the decisive victory over the A’s fully under control

When Houck wanted more rope, Cora listened.

“He was very convincing, to say the least,” said Cora.

Houck has earned that right, but when Cora came to the mound with two outs and two on in the sixth inning of the Sox’s 7-0 victory over the Oakland A’s on Thursday night, he wondered if that meant the end of the night for his pitcher.

The Sox led 5-0 and Houck had held the A’s hitless through the first 4 1/8 innings. But he began the sixth inning by allowing a leadoff single to Max Schuemann, then walked Brent Rooker with two outs and four straight pitches missed after jumping out on an 0-and-2 count.

“When you see the manager come out, that’s what goes through your mind,” Houck said.

The conversation was uncomplicated.

“I asked, ‘What do you have?'” Cora said. “He said, ‘I have it.’ That was it.”

Cora trusted Houck. And even when Houck lost control of a splitter and the wild pitch put Schuemann and Rooker in scoring position, Houck held on and brought in Lawrence Butler with a groundout to end the inning.

“I knew I had more left in the tank and was just super grateful for the chance to stay out there and get the last guy,” Houck said after throwing six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and three walks while recording six strikeouts.

It was his fifth scoreless appearance this season and his first since May 20 against the Rays.

The Sox (51-41) continued their surge to close the first half of the season. They have won 18 of 25 games, including eight of their last 10. They earned the third wild-card spot by winning or tying 11 of 12 series (7-1-4) and improved their record in playoffs to 9-2 (6-0 at Fenway) while outscoring opponents 65-34 and winning five straight playoffs at home.

With a record of 8-6 in 19 starts, Houck has become the Sox’s All-Star pitcher they rely on.

“He’s our man, of course,” said Cora. ​​”I think he did a great job in the first half of the season and from next week there will be situations like this again and we need him.”

Houck rebounded from his two shortest starts of the season. Last Friday against the New York Yankees, he lasted just 3⅓ innings after allowing four walks and two hits, and on June 29 against the San Diego Padres, he lasted just 4 innings, allowing seven runs on nine hits.

He wasn’t happy with the three walks (three), he wasn’t happy with the long counts he had to endure, and he wasn’t happy with how often he fell behind, but Houck got back on track by finding the strike zone on 64 of his 103 pitches.

“I felt a lot better,” Houck said. “After the last two outings, I continued to go to work every day and push myself to get better. That shows that it works in the long run. Stick to the plan.”

The Sox, who started the night with a 34-13 record and scored first, took the lead with a three-run start in the first inning.

The night before, the Sox had given up a first-inning situation with the bases loaded against left-handed starter JP Sears. On Thursday night, the bases were loaded again in the first inning, but when the A’s sent right-hander Luis Medina to the mound, the Sox were able to capitalize.

Jarren Duran led off the inning with a walk, then David Hamilton hit a single to right to make first-and-second with no outs. Medina fought through the trouble, striking out Tyler O’Neill and Rafael Devers, but then allowed a four-pitch walk to Connor Wong.

That brought Masataka Yoshida to bat, and although Yoshida was in a slump of 4-for-23 (with seven strikeouts) over the last six games, he had been a threat all season with runners on base (.343 average, three home runs, 20 RBIs), especially in scoring position (.342, one home run, 16 RBIs).

Yoshida hit a line drive single to right that brought home Duran and Hamilton. Wilyer Abreu followed with an RBI double to right that made it 3-0.

Medina lasted five innings, but the Sox allowed six runs on seven hits. Wong hit a solo home run in the third inning (his eighth). Abreu added another in the fourth (also his eighth).

Yohsida increased the damage in the sixth inning with a two-run homer, sending Kyle Muller’s 2-1 fastball into the Sox bullpen and giving him his fourth home run of the season.

Yoshida went 2-for-4 with a home run and a season-high four RBIs. Wilyer Abreu went 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and a run scored. Connor Wong went 2-for-3 with a home run and three runs scored.

Houck will make his first All-Star Game appearance next week in Arlington, Texas, and has settled into his role as a reliable pitcher for his team, taking some of the pressure off the offense.

“It’s unbelievable,” Abreu said. “I think he’s been consistent all year and that’s why he’s having such a good year. And I feel like he hasn’t missed his shots too many times. I think that’s why he’s having such a good year.”

Houck has now reached a career-high 117 innings pitched and is optimistic he can build on that as he moves into unfamiliar territory in the second half.

“I’m really excited about my consistency in the first half,” Houck said. “But it’s not over yet. You can look back and be happy with that, but I want more. I want to keep getting into games, playing my best every night and ultimately putting the team in the best position to win.”

Julian Benbow can be reached at [email protected].