Lance McCullers Jr. reached a remarkable milestone in his quest to return to a Major League mound. In a moment 868 days in the making, McCullers threw a pitch for the Houston Astros. It was his first game action since Game 3 of the 2022 World Series. And his former teammates showed their support by reaching out before his start.
McCullers reflected on the memorable moment after the game. “I don’t think people understand how long of a journey it’s been, how lonely it has been, how hard it’s been on me to get back to this point… It’s not an exaggeration where I felt as late as this past summer I may never pitch again. It’s been a really long journey for me with ups and downs, and really just marked by just a really deep want to be back out there with the guys, and that kind of kept pushing me,” he explained, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
Lance McCullers Jr. was back on the mound for the Astros
McCullers got the start for the Astros in a spring training matchup against the Washington Nationals. He went one inning, allowing no runs, no hits and no walks on 13 pitches. While McCullers wanted to head back out for the second inning, manager Joe Espada wisely kept him in the dugout as the Astros want to ramp him up slowly and cautiously.
The 31-year-old pitcher has scratched and clawed to get back to this point. After debuting in 2015, he’s experienced multiple injuries that would have discouraged a lesser pitcher from mounting a comeback.
After missing the first half of 2022 while he recovered from a forearm injury, McCullers came back, getting in eight regular season starts before pitching in the postseason. He helped the Astros win the World Series – his second championship with the team – but sustained a muscle strain the following spring training.
McCullers would eventually need surgery on his flexor tendon which caused him to miss all of 2023. He then suffered a setback during rehab and was shut down for the entire 2024 season as well. On Wednesday, he made his triumphant return to the mound.
And McCullers looked pretty sharp in his outing in nearly two and a half years, pitching to contact with his changeup.
“I’m very bullish on the changeup… You need that as a pitch that I can steal outs with and get me back into counts. I threw one 3-1 [count] to [CJ] Abrams, which is a big count to throw it. I’m glad [catcher] Victor [Caratini] forced me to throw it. Just keep pushing forward with that in mind as a big pitch for me,” McCullers said, via MLB.com.
Although the spring training start was a huge step forward, McCullers won’t be ready to pitch for the Astros by Opening Day. He’ll begin the season on the IL and get in a rehab stint before finally rejoining Houston in late April.
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