McAdam: For Tanner Houck, the reality was even better than the dream

On Sunday, anticipating his first major league start that was then still two days away, Tanner Houck did little to hide his excitement.

"It's been a dream of mine since I  started playing baseball,'' said Houck.

We all want to realize our dreams. We all want our fantasies to come true.

But it doesn't always work that way. In fact, it seldom does. When something is years and years in the making, it can be difficult to meet expectations. And so, the dreams in the backyard sometimes give way to a much harsher reality. They're seldom as good as we envision.

Tanner Houck, however, was the exception to the rule. On Tuesday, his first major league start was all that he had hoped it would be -- and possibly more.

Five shutout innings, just two hits allowed, and a win -- for the team and himself -- to savor. Just trying topping that.

"Definitely right now, kind of high on life,'' conceded Houck after he and three other relievers shut out the Miami Marlins 2-0. "The win was truly amazing.''

From his pre-game warmup in the bullpen to sweating out the final four innings in the dugout, Houck experienced a variety of emotions: from apprehension to exhilaration and everything in between. Energized from the beginning, he eventually settled in and went on to become the first Red Sox rookie starter to win his debut since Eduardo Rodriguez in 2015.

But there were, as expected, challenges on the way. He twice had to extricate himself from two-on, two-out jams. Impressively, both times he finished the inning with a swinging strikeout.

His fastball played well, occasionally touching the mid-90s and featured its trademark movement. His splitter, still a work in progress and mostly reserved for lefthanded hitters, was uneven but suitable when it needed to be.

Mostly, Houck flourished with a sweeping slider, which tailed away from right-handed hitters, cutting across the strike zone before cruelly eluding them in the dirt. His best moment came in the fourth when he confounded Miguel Rojas with a slider that nearly carved the plate in two.

Rojas stood flatfooted, unable to execute a swing until he chopped his bat downward in frustration, leaving two teammates stranded.

It's been more than a decade since the Red Sox have developed a starting pitcher of their own of any accomplishment, and they did their best to cherry-pick this environment and this lineup -- with just three lefties -- for him. No major league lineup is a cakewalk, but the Sox did everything they could to stack the odds in his favor. Why make a difficult task any harder?

Their rotation has been a mess all season. Houck was the 15th different starting pitcher the club trotted to the mound, and some nights, you get the idea that Chaim Bloom watched what unfolded with his eyes half-covered, unwilling to watch.

One start, especially one lasting just five innings, guarantees nothing. When Houck pitches a second time, he could be cuffed around, bringing him crashing down, and then and only then will he be truly tested. Can he rebound from a poor outing? Can he patch together his confidence once it's been shattered by major league hitters?

It's also important to consider the stakes, because frankly, for the Red Sox, there are none. Long ago having played themselves out of contention, these games offer little in the way of pressure. While opponents like the Rays and Phillies are playing for their very playoff lives, the Red Sox are merely playing out the string. There's nothing at stake and all that's being asked of them is to play hard. That loose environment makes it a little easier to compete.

But this was not the night to worry about what's around the corner or that the particular circumstances were. In a season in which they've auditioned journeyman and retreads, turned in desperation to unproved relievers as openers and scoured the scrap heap for arms, this was a night to savor.

And so, while keeping things in perspective, they did. And maybe they allowed themselves to dream a little, too.

"That was fun to watch,'' gushed Ron Roenicke. "Great start for him, great game for us. When you want to make an impression, he made an impression on all of us.''

"It was a surreal moment,'' concluded Houck of the experience. "It's a moment I'll be able to look back on for the rest of my life, and fully embrace it. As times goes on, I'll be able to appreciate it any more.''

For now, however, Houck struggled to offer the proper perspective, to articulate the significance of what he had just experienced.

"I can't even put it into words,'' he confessed.

That wasn't necessary. On the night he had always hoped would happen, the start he had always waited for, he got to live out his dream.