Houck (3-4) took the loss Friday as the Red Sox fell 5-1 to the Nationals, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk over seven innings. He struck out four.
The right-hander pitched well and gave Boston another quality start, Houck's fifth straight and seventh in eight outings this season, but his offense let him down. Houck will carry a 2.24 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 50:8 K:BB through 52.1 innings into his next start, which lines up to come at home next week against the Rays.