BALTIMORE -- Right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. may have helped the Astros to a 10-7 win over the Orioles on Friday night in his return from the injured list. He could not, however, completely quiet concerns about his viability in the rotation for a team vying for another AL West title and a ninth consecutive postseason appearance.
McCullers allowed three runs over four innings at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in his 12th start of 2025, after missing all of 2023 and 2024 with multiple forearm surgeries, and -- more recently -- 30 games with a blister on his pitching hand.
He allowed five hits and five walks on 87 pitches while his WHIP rose to 1.80 and ERA held relatively steady at 6.89. It was his most free passes issued since July 22, 2018 and a fourth start in his last five where he recorded at least as many walks as strikeouts.
“A ton of foul balls drove his pitch count up,” lamented Houston manager Joe Espada. “When he’s in the zone, he’s really good. We’ve just got to get him in the zone more.”
Even so, with a sinker velocity that rose as high as 94.5 mph in the first inning, the 31-year-old left the ballpark feeling like he would be much closer to the version of McCullers who exceeded 20 starts and pitched to a sub-4.00 ERA three times if he could get better command of it.
“I’m that normal sinker away from, in my opinion, from being in a really great spot,” McCullers said. “Being able to really control the game. Really give the guys length.”
Jeremy Peña hit a three-run home run and an RBI double for a suddenly resurgent Astros offense, a night after they broke out of a four-game slide -- in which they only scored two runs -- with a 7-2 victory in the series opener.
Christian Walker also connected with a three-run shot off Cade Povich (2-7), his 18th overall and second in as many games. And Victor Caratini contributed a pinch-hit, two-run double during a three-run eighth that gave a short-handed Astros bullpen some welcome insurance.
“Hard contact, good at-bats, got ourselves in big hitters counts, big home runs,” said Espada, whose club is two games ahead of the Mariners atop the AL West after Seattle's 3-2 win vs. the Athletics. “This is who we are. And it’s really nice to see back-to-back nights.”
McCullers could’ve had things snowball into much more without a first-inning escape act that echoed the right-hander’s best career moments.
After loading the bases with one out on a hit and two walks, and pitching into a 3-1 count against Colton Cowser, McCullers threw five straight strikes to fan Cowser and Coby Mayo. The latter chased a strike-two sinker away that registered at 93.7 mph, well above the sinker's 91.5 mph season average, then flailed at one of McCullers’ best sliders of the night for strike three.
McCullers wouldn’t be as fortunate three innings later when consecutive leadoff walks got him in trouble. This time Alex Jackson singled in the first run, and two batters later, Jeremiah Jackson doubled to the right-field power alley off the heel of right fielder Cam Smith’s outstretched glove.
“It just kind of comes in bunches sometimes, which is the frustrating part,” McCullers said. “You put yourself in tough positions as a pitcher to have to constantly work out of.”