Houck allowed three runs on three hits, four walks and a hit batsman while striking out one over 2.2 innings in Tuesday's spring game against Atlanta.

EDGE Analysis

Houck's mission was to pound the strike zone as he did in his second spring start, but he walked two batters and hit one in the first inning. He's now sandwiched two shaky, command-challenged outings around a dominant start in Grapefruit League play. The right-hander has permitted 10 walks and hit a batter over 6.1 innings. Boston manager Alex Cora named his five-man rotation Tuesday, and Houck will not be part of it. He will likely start at Triple-A Worcester and work through his location issues.