Unvaccinated Tanner Houck roasted after Red Sox lose to Blue Jays in walk-off fashion
Boston Red Sox closer Tanner Houck's decision to remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 means he is not currently allowed to play games against the Toronto Blue Jays north of the border.
His absence was felt in a huge way on Tuesday as the Red Sox blew a ninth-inning lead and fell to the Blue Jays in walk-off fashion.
After grabbing the lead in the eighth inning, Boston manager Alex Cora turned to right-hander Tyler Danish for the home half of the frame, then left him out to begin the ninth. After allowing the first two batters to reach, Hansel Robles replaced Danish on the mound and served up back-to-back RBI singles to Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to end the game.
Despite not physically pitching in the game — or even being in the same country at the time of the loss — it was Houck who took the heat from fans.
Man if only the Red Sox had Tanner Houck I wonder if there was a simple decision he could’ve made that would’ve allowed him to close out this game against the Blue Jays and prevent losing a series in Toronto and 2nd place
— Ryan Garcia (In The Lab🧪) (@RyanGarciaESM) June 29, 2022
Tanner Houck will do absolutely anything to help the Red Sox win, except make sure he's actually with the team and available when they really need him to close out a one-run game in Toronto
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) June 29, 2022
I wonder if Tanner Houck is going to get booed the next time he's at Fenway. Its hard not to put this loss on him.
— Ed Hand (@EdwardHand8) June 29, 2022
#TannerHouck just made baseball history by blowing a save, while not even being in the same country as his team. #RedSox
— Steve Leibowitz (@StevenL57) June 29, 2022
I’m glad Tanner Houck is burning the midnight oil in the lab researching COVID-19 instead of “doing everything he can” to help the #redsox win in Toronto.
— Byron Magrane (@byronm19) June 29, 2022
Would’ve been nice to have the closer available tonight… Tanner Houck is a selfish and misinformed moron. #RedSox
— Tim Kraus (@tgkraus) June 29, 2022
"Chaim, this is Tanner Houck. He's a relief pitcher. He is one of the most undervalued players in baseball. His defect is that he can not legally enter Canada." pic.twitter.com/V5O1hXJAGP
— Not Hoodie Maybin #WendleToNYY (@HoodieMaybin) June 29, 2022
Tanner Houck's refusal to get the vaccine has cost the red sox 3 wins this year alone. Not even looking at the politics of whether he is right or wrong. It is a fact he has cost them this year
— Colin_Nosek (@NosekColin) June 29, 2022
Most richly-deserved loss ever. Anti-vax Sox closer is back in Boston enjoying personal freedom, while Sox pen blows 5-4 lead in the 9th. Pen never got an out in the ninth. Sox are 2-7 vs. Jays, 7-16 vs. AL East. But everybody evidently ok with Tanner Houck quitting on team.
— Dan Shaughnessy (@Dan_Shaughnessy) June 29, 2022
Cora gave a very diplomatic answer when asked about the bullpen in his postgame press conference, while Danish shouldered the blame for the loss.
“We go with the 26 [players] that are here,” Cora said. “We tried to get 27 outs and we didn’t do it.”
“After a game like that, fighting back from a deficit, down early, that one hurts,” Danish said. “This one goes on me.”
We may not have heard the last of this storyline. After they leave town on Wednesday, the Red Sox still have one more series in Toronto in 2022. That three-game set begins on Sept. 30 and could carry massive playoff implications.
Boston is currently half a game behind Toronto for the top wild-card spot in the American League. There's still more than half the season to be played, but if the standings hold up, the Red Sox would begin the playoffs on the road against the Blue Jays.
The Red Sox are 1-4 in games played at Rogers Centre this year and 2-7 against the Blue Jays overall.
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