Wander Franco and Tanner Houck faced off in an 11-pitch battle that showed how much of a chess match baseball can be. Franco stepped in clearly hunting fastballs, and Houck knew it. Still, he kept challenging him with heat. Franco fouled off multiple fastballs, laid off some weak off-speed stuff, and hung in despite being down in the count. Houck mixed in sliders and split changes, but Franco was locked in. They worked it to a full count, and after a couple more foul balls, Houck finally gave in and threw another fastball, this time middle-middle. Franco crushed it off the monster at Fenway.
At first, it looked like a double, but the umps talked it over and ruled it a homer. The ball hit the outfield wall to the left of the yellow line, then ricocheted onto the roof behind the fence, which by Fenway’s odd dimensions counts as a home run. Franco and the Rays went up 3-1. The very next pitch, another Rays hitter drilled a fastball off the wall for a single, and that was the end of Houck’s night. Tampa kept doing what they’ve been doing all year—grinding at-bats, hammering mistakes, and making pitchers pay.