Astros SP Lance McCullers Jr. pushed to Game 4 after champagne bottle hits, injures elbow

Estimated read time 2 min read


Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. is the latest MLB player to suffer a bizarre injury during the excitement of October baseball. After the Astros eliminated the Seattle Mariners in an epic, 18-inning ALDS Game 3 last weekend, the ensuing celebration apparently got a bit carried away, leading to McCullers Jr.’s strange mishap.

“It was really no one’s fault,” McCullers said, per ESPN. “It was just an accident. So, it’s not a huge deal.”

McCullers said he threw 35 pitches in the bullpen Friday and would have no limitations Sunday.

Asked how the injury occurred, he said: “Some guy was kind of coming back behind me and the bottle just happened to kind of hit the back inside a part of my elbow as the people were passing by.” 

The righty started the Game 3 clincher, hurling six shutout innings and allowing two walks, two hits and striking out seven, but wasn’t part of the decision. McCullers Jr. was slated to take the bump for Game 3 of the ALCS against the New York Yankees on Saturday at Yankee Stadium, but Cristian Javier will and McCullers Jr. will instead get the nod in Game 4.

The Astros are up 2-0 in the best-of-seven game series.

Houston relief pitcher Phil Maton suffered a broken finger earlier this month in an odd way and was ruled out for the playoffs, though his injury was certainly not due to over celebration. Maton was sidelined after punching a locker in frustration after a rough outing against the Philadelphia Phillies during the final series of the regular season.

Phillies reliever David Robertson missed all four games of his team’s NLDS victory against the defending World Series-champion Atlanta Braves after straining his calf while celebrating a Bryce Harper home run. Robertson recovered from the injury and is part of Philadelphia’s NLCS roster.





Source link

You May Also Like

More From Author