Red Sox Minor League Report: Tanner Houck Returns to The Mound In Portland’s Double-Frenzy Victory

[Ayden Mason]

Red Sox Affiliate Recap (September 8)

Triple-A Worcester Red Sox

Season Record: 70-63

Worcester suffered a heartbreaking 5-4 walk off defeat in extra-innings to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Lehigh Valley IronPigs)

The bats for the WooSox racked up 10 hits, outhitting the IronPigs, who had seven. Braiden Ward and Mikey Romero delivered three hits apiece while Franklin Arias had one, including two RBI’s. 

The one-two punch of Ward and Arias put the Sox on top early in the first, 1-0. Ward blasted a leadoff triple, then crossed the plate with the help of an Arias sacrifice fly. The duo helped bring in another run in the fifth; Braiden tallied another extra-base hit, a double, followed up by a bloop fly ball to right field by Franklin, making it a 2-0 game. The scoring continued; however, Romero’s third hit of the game was a line drive single, bringing in Arias to extend Worcester’s lead to 3-0.

Lehigh Valley clawed back slowly, tying the game 3-3 and prompting an extra-inning affair. Allan Castro’s sacrifice fly brought in Romero to make it 4-3. It might have been enough, but it seemed hard to believe since the IronPigs bats were catching fire. The Lehigh Valley offense certainly stayed hot; one walk and an intentional walk loaded the bases with one out, then came a hard-hit grounder through the infield, bringing in two runs to walk it off 5-4. 

The Sox rolled out a bullpen game, with just three of their six pitchers coming out of their outings with no damage. Devin Sweet served as the opener once again, who got into trouble with two baserunners aboard but came out with a spotless inning. Seth Martinez dominated in his two shutout innings of work, allowing just one hit and one walk while punching out four batters. 

Sam McWilliams was brought in the middle of the eighth inning with two runners on base and no outs; a soft infield bunt single jammed the bases with no outs to put McWilliams in a hole. Despite the game becoming tied, the right-hander did the best he could, striking out the very next batter, giving up just one run on a sacrifice fly, and a lineout limited the damage. He came into the ninth and punched out two batters to send the game to extras. 

Standout Performances:

• Mikey Romero: 3-for-5, 2B, R, RBI
• Braiden Ward: 3-for-5, 2 R, 3B, 2B

Double-A Portland Sea Dogs

Season Record: 68-64

The Portland Sea Dogs opened their final regular season homestand with an 8-6 victory over the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (New York Mets). 

Portland’s offense got it done by hammering extra-base hits; eight of their 11 hits went for extra bases, six doubles and two home runs. Justin Gonzales, Henry Godbout, and Johanfran Garcia each tallied multiple hits. 

A two-out rally began in the first inning for the Sea Dogs; Garcia’s first of two doubles brought in Gonzales, then Will Turner’s two-run blast put Portland on top 3-0. The Rumble Ponies did not take long to respond, putting together a four-run third inning to take the lead 4-3. 

Then came the Sea Dogs’ double party in the bottom half of the third. Godbout led off the inning with a two-bagger, followed up by an RBI double from Brooks Brannon to tie the game. Afterward, the third straight double was also Garcia’s second double of the game, taking back the lead for Portland 5-4. 

Binghamton took over the lead once again in the fifth to make it 6-5, but Portland tied it in the seventh after a Godbout RBI single brought in Ahbram Liendo. Ronald Rosario became the hero in the eighth as a pinch hitter, blasting a go-ahead two-run homer, giving Portland an 8-6 lead. Steven Brooks came in from the bullpen and closed it out in the ninth, earning his first save for the Sea Dogs.

Tanner Houck made his first 2026 appearance since having Tommy John surgery. The former first-round pick registered a 2.54 ERA in 2024, earning himself a well-deserved All-Star appearance in his age-28 season. Going into 2025, many Boston fans were looking forward to the two-headed monster of Garrett Crochet and Houck, but he struggled mightily; his season ultimately ended with Tommy John surgery. 

It was a bit of a rocky outing in his first rehab appearance of 2026; he was only allowed to throw 20 pitches (8 for strikes), giving up one run (RBI groundout), two walks, and recording just two outs. 

Standout Performances: 

• Johanfran Garcia: 2-for-4, 2 2B, R, 2 RBI, SB
• Ronald Rosario: 1-for-1, HR, R, 2 RBI
• Henry Godbout: 2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI

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