Houck (4-3) allowed one hit and one walk while striking out three over two scoreless inning to pick up the extra-inning win over the Angels on Tuesday.

EDGE Analysis

After giving up a leadoff double in the bottom of the ninth inning, Houck bore down to shepherd the game into an extra frame. He induced a pop fly, a swinging strikeout and then got Jo Adell looking at a filthy slider. It was his sixth straight scoreless appearance. After serving as a piggyback starter for Rich Hill, Houck has made four consecutive relief appearances of two innings or fewer, as manager Alex Cora is giving him a new role. "That's what we're looking for," Cora said about Houck's two scoreless innings to Christopher Smith of MassLive.com. "We're going to use him in high-leverage situations. We'll try to avoid the 4-inning, 3-inning stints. The maximum he'll go is two (innings). Kind of like the way we used Garrett (Whitlock) last year. He's been throwing the ball great for us... His stuff is really good late in games." Houck may be a stabilizing presence in a bullpen that desperately needs one, and his role could eventually expand to include save opportunities.