Lance McCullers Jr., right-handed pitcher for the Houston Astros, announced that he will miss the opening game of the last World Series champions due to a pulled muscle in his throwing arm.
McCullers, sidelined for the first 4 1/2 months of last season while rehabbing a strained right pronator flexor, was sore last week after a bullpen session.
He underwent an MRI Tuesday night. She told reporters Wednesday that tests had shown no structural damage to her elbow.
But the ailment will delay the start of his campaign.
“I’ve been a little upset,” said the 29-year-old pitcher. “I was looking forward to a great start to the camp and season.”
McCullers described the injury as “a little pulled muscle.”
“This will slow me down a bit, but it shouldn’t be something like last year,” he confided. It should be something where, hopefully, he’s catching some balls in a couple of weeks.”
As for whether he’ll be ready for the opening game, he replied: “That’s out of the question. Because of the nature of spring prep, the number of bullpen appearances you need, and obviously the games, the smart thing to do would be to go at a slow pace and then come back and still have the ability to pitch for most of the season. ”.
McCullers missed the 2020 season, following Tommy John surgery. He went 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA in 2021, when he got hurt in the postseason.
He had signed a five-year, $85 million contract before the 2021 season. McCullers made eight starts since Aug. 13 and went 0-1 in three playoff outings.
SAVE TIME
Yankees starter Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon and Luis Severino each pitched two innings, as did reliever Michael King, during a simulated game with a Triple-A umpire behind the plate and on the new pitch clock.
The result was that each half inning lasted a couple of minutes less than in previous years. And there were just a couple of violations.
“I feel like these first few days have been a success from that standpoint,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “It is something that I have insisted on. I think it was nice to have an umpire here today, to have a casual interaction and that feedback.”
Hitters for the Yankees included Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo and DJ LeMahieu.
Cole needed 35 pitches to get eight outs, allowing a single to Harrison Bader.
King is coming back after breaking an elbow in July. The injury required surgery.
