Houser works around trouble for solid start in DC

WASHINGTON -- Adrian Houser was in a jam.

With two outs and the bases loaded in the fourth inning at Nationals Park, he desperately needed a quick out -- and he got it.

Houser struck out CJ Abrams on seven pitches after a brief mound visit, ending his day on a high note as the Rays went on to beat the Nationals 4-1 on Friday night.

All told, Houser allowed just one run (in the first inning) on six hits and three walks over four innings, with four strikeouts. And while it might have been Houser’s shortest start since joining the Rays at the Trade Deadline -- and far from his cleanest so far -- it was a step in the right direction.

The Nationals drove up Houser’s pitch count off the bat -- after delivering 25 pitches in the first inning, he threw just 10 in the second … but 20-plus in both the third and fourth frames. In the end, it wasn’t his performance that caused the early hook but the high pitch count (86 pitches, 51 strikes).

“The pitch count got driven up, Washington had some -- a lot of -- really, really good at-bats,” manager Kevin Cash said. “... I thought with House today, [it was a] little different than what we had seen in the past, where he was probably just trying to make that perfect pitch and then he didn't get it, would do it again; got a little stubborn at times but competed about as well as you could ask.”

Of course, it helped that Houser’s offense got the ball rolling early, with a first-inning two-run homer from Brandon Lowe -- his eighth long ball in his past 20 games. Later, once Houser had exited the game, it was Everson Pereira's turn to launch one, sending his first Major League homer into the seats in center field for a much-needed insurance run in the fifth.

Lowe, for the first time since 2021, is approaching the 30-homer mark. That long ball was his 27th of the year, and he doesn’t seem to be stopping any time soon.

Tampa Bay’s defense wasn’t too shabby, either.

While Houser got himself out of that final jam, it was Chandler Simpson who helped the veteran out in the prior two innings.

Houser opened the second by giving up a single to Daylen Lile. So when Paul DeJong followed suit in the next at-bat, Lile made his move to take third base. Enter Simpson, who threw out the runner at third for the first time in his career.

“I know Daylen, so just the fact that he tried me and then I got him -- yeah, that was a good moment for sure,” Simpson said. “... The fact that two things that I've been working on -- the arm and jumps in the outfield -- just the fact that it came together today was great to see.”

Then, with two outs and runners in scoring position following a balk, Nationals backstop Riley Adams sent a line drive into left field -- only for the ball to be caught by a diving Simpson. Houser, ever grateful, raised both arms in the air in exuberance that Simpson had secured that final out of the frame.

“It was awesome,” Houser said. “You know, I thought, ‘Man, I left that pitch over the plate.’ Ended up being a good pitch, they put a good swing on it and Chandler made a heck of a play right there. And I was really happy. I was like, ‘Damn, we're going to give up some runs here on a hit like that.’ And it came flying out of nowhere, and he just dove and got us all excited.”

It’s been a less-than-ideal beginning to Houser’s Rays tenure. In his first two starts with Tampa Bay, he gave up nine runs over 10 2/3 innings. He bounced back some in his third start -- five scoreless innings with just four hits vs. the Giants on Aug. 16 -- before getting into a hole on Aug. 22 vs. the Cardinals (four runs on six hits, two walks and one HBP). He did rally in that prior start, though, completing 6 1/3 innings.

The final line was a little different on Friday night, with a different mix of good and bad.

“You know, we were able to limit the damage,” Houser said. “I was obviously not helping myself out there, not executing and throwing a lot of strikes, just falling behind and putting myself in some tough spots. But you know, we were able to bear down and make some pitches when we needed to.”

So while the Houser that Tampa Bay has seen so far isn’t quite the Houser the Rays acquired from the White Sox on July 31, he’s finding his way. And perhaps this final August start will serve as a jumping-off point for the final month of the season.