McCullers excited to start G4 in baseball's 'mecca'

NEW YORK -- No matter what he does during the rest of his career, Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr.’s performance against the Yankees in Game 7 of the 2017 American League Championship Series -- in which he famously threw 24 consecutive curveballs while tossing four scoreless innings in relief to clinch the pennant -- will be one of his most memorable moments.

McCullers had landed awkwardly on his left hip earlier in the game and wasn’t comfortable throwing his fastball, so he started throwing his curveball effectively -- and he didn’t stop. He has certainly matured as a pitcher in the past five years and he has more weapons to get hitters out, but as he gets prepared to face the Yankees in Game 4 of the ALCS at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, McCullers hoped to create more memories. And after the Astros won Game 3 on Saturday, 5-0, to take a 3-0 series lead, McCullers will be starting the possible series clincher.

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“That was a special type of night for me and kind of an event,” he said. “I don't know if I'll be able to top that. I think I'm more of a little bit of a complete pitcher now to rip off 24 in a row, but you never know.”

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Sunday will be McCullers’ 11th career postseason start and his second this season. He threw six scoreless innings against the Mariners in the Astros' 18-inning 1-0 win in Game 3 of the AL Division Series on Oct. 15. McCullers’ only other postseason start against the Yankees came in Game 4 of the 2017 ALCS at Yankee Stadium, where he held them to one run and two hits in six innings.

“It's just another amazing opportunity to pitch in the postseason,” McCullers said. “That's what this game is about. It's about pitching in the postseason, about having opportunities, having moments. Just go out there and do your thing.

“So New York baseball, especially when I was growing up, I mean -- it's the mecca, pinnacle of the baseball sports world. So my whole life I grew up watching the Yankees, Red Sox -- all of those great rivalries and those great teams, so I'm very excited. This will be my second postseason start in New York. I've pitched here a couple other times. I've always enjoyed it.”

McCullers’ only outing against the Yankees since 2018 came on May 6, 2021, at Yankee Stadium. He held them to three runs and six hits in six innings. The only current Yankees who have more than 10 at-bats against him are Isiah Kiner-Falefa (4-for-16) and Aaron Judge (2-for-11)

“There's a gold star next to his name,” McCullers said of Judge. “I mean, he's their guy. They got a team full of 'em, but Aaron's had a pretty remarkable historic season. So any time that you face a guy like him you have to make sure, you know, you're just aware of the situation. But it's not so easy when you have [Giancarlo] Stanton and [Anthony] Rizzo and guys like that that have had postseason success hitting behind him. So you just have to do your best to make good pitches and then from there execute the game plan, and after that it's really out of your hands.”