Lance McCullers is finally throwing after nearly two and-a-half years without taking the mound in a live game. The Cuban-American righty tossed two innings in which he gave up two runs on two hits and also fanned three, eventually departing with a no-decision in the Sugar Land Space Cowboys 3-2 loss to the Oklahoma City Comets.
“Well, two innings and I felt like I was going into the third, which is a good sign. In these rehab games, it’s about coming in healthy and coming out healthy, which was achieved today. I lost my rhythm a little in the second inning, but other than that, I’m very happy… Probably another three-inning start next. I don’t know, I’d have to talk to Joe (Espada) and the training staff, but I guess it will be in 5-6 days.” said Lance McCullers to Javier González after his rehab.
McCullers last pitched in the 2022 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Over his seven-year career the right-hander has a 49-32 record, 3.48 earned run average and 800 strikeouts in 718 ⅔ innings of work. The native of Tampa, Florida has also garnered an All-Star selection and has pitched in two World Series over that span.
Expect McCullers to make a couple of more starts before eventually joining the big club in the distant future. The velocity on his fastball topped out at 95 MPH. McCullers did see action in spring training tossing a scoreless inning with the big club, while also seeing action in minor league games. The plan is to build up his arm and pitch counts slowly to the point where he can return to being a starting pitcher in the Astros’ rotation.