Astros' Lance McCullers Jr. turns back the clock in win over Red Sox

It's been a long time since Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. looked this good.

On Monday, the 2017 All-Star turned back the clock in his first start of the 2026 season, an 8-1 win over the Boston Red Sox (1-3), allowing one earned run on four hits and a walk in seven innings while striking out nine batters on 96 pitches.

McCullers ended his outing by getting out of a seventh-inning jam, striking out Red Sox pinch hitter Masataka Yoshida on a full count with runners on second and third.

Lance McCullers Jr. sharp in first start of 2026

McCullers returned to the majors in 2025 after losing two seasons following elbow surgery, but was shaky in a year that came with more injury woes. The nine-year veteran spent four stints on the injured list, not making his first start until May and then missing time in June with a right foot strain, July and August with a blister and September due to right-hand soreness.

He struggled when healthy, finishing the season with a 6.51 earned run average in 55.1 innings across 16 games (13 starts). Per Baseball Savant, he had the fourth-highest walk rate (14.2 percent) among pitchers with at least 50 innings while also tying for the second-highest hard-hit rate (50 percent).

But Monday was a different story entirely. McCullers used his full repertoire of pitches to great effect, leaning most heavily on his sinker, which accounted for 34.4 percent of his pitches. He also used a four-seam fastball (7.3 percent), cutter (25 percent), change-up (8.3 percent), sweeper (4.2 percent) and knuckle curve (20.8 percent).

Of McCullers' nine strikeouts, eight came on whiffs, including his first two of the game. He got Red Sox leadoff hitter Roman Anthony out on a 91.4 mph cutter, followed by shortstop Trevor Story on an 87.4 mph changeup.