Guardians' Ben Lively: Outdueled in 2024 debut

Lively (0-1) took the loss Wednesday, allowing two runs on three hits and one walk with seven strikeouts over five innings against Boston.

Although Lively was impressive in his first start of the campaign, he wasn't as good as Tanner Houck, who pitched a complete-game shutout. Lively ran into a bit of trouble in the third and fourth innings, bringing in Pablo Reyes on a balk in the third before surrendering a solo homer to Connor Wong in the fourth. With Gavin Williams (elbow) set to miss at least one more trip around the rotation, Lively should receive some opportunities to build on Wednesday's performance. His first chance to do so is tentatively set to come Tuesday in a rematch with the Red Sox.