McCullers' first outing since 2022 elicits standing ovation from teammates

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- To get an idea of how important the 13 pitches that Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. threw on Tuesday night were, the standing ovation his teammates gave him in the dugout while he was walking off the mound was all you needed to know.

“You’re nothing without your guys in the locker room,” McCullers said.

McCullers blew a kiss to his family, including his parents, wife and two young daughters in the front row above the dugout, after pitching a scoreless inning in a 4-3 loss to the Nationals at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. The Grapefruit League start marked the first game action for McCullers in 868 days -- since Game 3 of the 2022 World Series -- and marked the end of a long journey.

And the start of another.

“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,” McCullers said. “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.”

McCullers, who underwent surgery in June 2023 to repair a flexor tendon and suffered a setback last season, threw six balls and seven strikes and recorded three outs while hitting one batter. He threw four-seam fastballs, hitting 93 mph, mixed in some changeups and added one slider and one curveball. All three outs he recorded were on changeups, which is a focus pitch for him this spring.

“I’m very bullish on the changeup,” he said. “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.”

Astros manager Joe Espada said McCullers’ return was the highlight of the day.

“He looked good,” Espada said. “He threw strikes, mixed all his pitches -- changeup -- and threw good fastballs. He came out wanting to go back out, but no. It was a good day for Lance. I’m really happy for Lance.”

Earlier in the day, McCullers received text messages wishing him good luck from former teammates that included Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman, Dallas Keuchel and Justin Verlander, along with his former manager, A.J. Hinch, and former pitching coach, Brent Strom.

They were all part of the core that captured the 2017 World Series title, with McCullers starting Game 7 of the Fall Classic at Dodger Stadium. And they all understand the long road traveled by McCullers, who missed the 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He injured his flexor tendon in Game 4 of the ‘21 AL Division Series and spent most of the next season rehabbing.

McCullers said his next start will likely be two innings of a simulated game on a back field Monday, a day after the Astros break camp and head to Houston. McCullers will start the season on the injured list and begin with a rehab assignment in the Minor Leagues before returning to the Astros later in April.

“I spent some time this offseason [with him] and I know the ups and downs and how this weighs on a player, on his teammates,” Espada said. “He’s part of our family and we just want to get him back on the mound competing.”

McCullers and Jose Altuve are the only remaining players from the 2017 championship team, and the two spent some time chatting while walking down the left-field line after the second inning -- Altuve was going to his new position in left field and McCullers was headed to the clubhouse.

“[Altuve] said, ‘How long do you think [until] you’re back throwing with us?’” McCullers said. “And I said, ‘I’ve got five or six more,’ and he said, ‘Oh, that’s pretty quick.’”

If only.