Red Sox Had Silver Lining Despite Surprising Blowout Vs. Rays

The Boston Red Sox had arguably their worst overall night of the season to this point on Monday night when they took on the Tampa Bay Rays.

Boston was blown out in the contest and lost 16-1. There was plenty of negatives including some sloppy defense, quiet offense once again, and more struggles from the starting rotation by people not named Garrett Crochet.

It was a rough night overall, but there was one feel-good story baked into the action. Tanner Houck unfortunately made it just 2 1/3 innings into the action against the Rays. He allowed 11 earned runs and 12 runs overall. He allowed two home runs in the game and 10 overall base hits.

It wasn't his night and he earned the ball over to former All-Star Michael Fullmer. He pitched 2 2/3 innings and his numbers didn't jump off the pages as well. He finished his outing after allowing three earned runs to go along with two strikeouts. It wasn't the most dominant outing of his career by any means, but it was his first time taking the mound for a big league team since Sept. 11, 2023, as shared by MLB.com's Ian Browne.

"Michael Fulmer making his first MLB appearance since Sept. 11, 2023," Browne said.

It would've been great if it has been under different circumstances, but it's a silver lining in itself that he's been able to work his way back. He underwent UCL revision surgery in 2023 that forced him to miss the 2024 campaign. He looked like his old self in Spring Training, but didn't make the roster out of camp.

He's been steady with the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox and earned a call up. Unfortunately the Red Sox lost, but it must've been hard to rehab all of that time and work back to the majors. Good for him for that at the very least.