Houser (6-9) allowed a run on a hit and two walks over six innings, earning the win Saturday versus the Reds. He did not strike out a batter.
Houser amassed just three whiffs on 82 pitches, instead pitching effectively to contact. The lone run against him was on a TJ Friedl sacrifice fly in the third inning. Houser has looked better after a brief stint in the bullpen -- he's allowed four runs (two earned) over 11 innings in his last two appearances, both starts. He has a 4.61 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 65:39 K:BB through 91.2 innings across 19 outings (18 starts this year. The right-hander is projected for a home start versus the Yankees next weekend, and his rotation spot should be fairly safe with Eric Lauer (elbow) and Freddy Peralta (shoulder) on the injured list.