Astros Star Lance McCullers Jr. Starting to Look Like Vintage Version of Himself

The Houston Astros earned an impressive victory over the Seattle Mariners in the first game of a big series against their first-place divisional rival.

Getting started well and putting yourself in a position to make a run at taking back the divisional crown is always a positive, but one of the main takeaways from the 9-2 win came from the starting pitcher, even if he did not go very deep.

It's been quite the season so far for Lance McCullers Jr. during his attempted comeback from years worth of injuries which have cost him the majority of the last three years.

Prior to making his season debut earlier this month, McCullers had not pitched in a Major League game since the 2022 World Series.

Things got off to a rocky start when McCullers was pulled in the first inning of his second appearance against the Cincinnati Reds after getting just one out and giving up seven runs, though they got even worse after the game.

The veteran right-hander revealed his performance had brought death threats to him and his family from disgruntled fans, but instead of folding and packing it in, he came out his next start against the Texas Rangers and had a nice showing.

Then, on Thursday night, McCullers gave up five hits and two runs in 4.1 innings, but it was his eight strikeouts that are the main takeaway, especially after the first two innings were not great.

Lance McCullers Jr.'s Performance Starting to Come Around

McCullers was able to fight through giving up a run each in the first two innings including a first pitch bomb in the second to strike out back-to-back hitters to end both the second and third innings.

Collecting several more K's, he ended the night with the most he's had in years and it certainly looks like the nasty stuff that made him a star is beginning to come back.

After missing so much time, it was always going to be a process to get McCullers back where Houston wants him. But over the last two starts, he is getting there.

An ERA that ballooned to 15.75 after the disaster against Cincinnati has been cut to 6.57 in two outings and with each passing inning, McCullers is starting to look more comfortable.

As the Astros deal with a long line of injuries to their starting pitchers, getting even just decent production from McCullers could go a very long way toward keeping them afloat.

He certainly looks capable of doing just that, and that is really all Houston can realistically ask for right now.