Houck came on in relief and struck out two over 1.2 perfect innings in Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Rays.

EDGE Analysis

Even though Houck tossed five innings in his third start of the season just two days earlier, the Red Sox made him available out of the bullpen Sunday in anticipation of the right-hander not being available for the team's four-game series in Toronto that begins Monday. Because Houck has confirmed that he's unvaccinated, he isn't eligible to cross the border into Canada and will be placed on the restricted list in advance of the four-game series. The Red Sox are expected to turn to Garrett Whitlock to make a spot start the next time Houck's turn in the rotation comes up Thursday, while the latter will have at least four days to rest up before potentially making his next start in Baltimore next weekend.