Tanner Houck Injury: Roughed up in rehab start

Houck (elbow) allowed four earned runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out three over 3.2 innings in his rehab start Sunday for Triple-A Worcester.

Houck now has three rehab starts under his belt as he works his way back from the right flexor pronator strain that has kept him on the shelf since mid-May. He's performed shakily in all those outings, however, and now owns a 12.79 ERA over 6.1 innings with Worcester during his rehab assignment. Considering that Houck had struggled to an 8.04 ERA and 1.69 WHIP over 43.2 innings prior to landing on the injured list, he may need to deliver a strong performance in the minors before the Red Sox are comfortable breaking him back into the rotation.