Thursday, July 10

HOUSTON -- Lance McCullers Jr.’s next start will come against the Mariners this week at Daikin Park, which is where the veteran right-hander endured one of the lowest moments of his career -- on and off the field -- on May 10 against the Reds.

McCullers, making his second start following a 2 1/2-year layoff while he recovered major arm surgery, gave up seven runs, three walks and three hits while recording one out. After the game, it was revealed McCullers and his family were the target of threats made on social media, an ugly incident that had the baseball word rallying around the veteran pitcher.

Six days later, an undaunted McCullers was back on the mound in Arlington and threw four innings against the Rangers, allowing no earned runs, as he put the events of the previous week behind him. He hopes to take another step forward when he faces the Mariners this week.

“For me, there's no other way through it than through it,” he said. “You show up the next day and weeks like this week, you got to kind of work the hardest, you got to kind of rededicate.”

He said it’s not the first time an incident like this has occurred, though.

“I mean, these things aren't taken lightly,” he said. “This happened before -- more directed towards me and other players, and that person actually went to jail -- so it happens a lot in sports, unfortunately. And honestly, so many people reaching out and my teammates being so supportive and ... just feeling almost a sense of feeling like I just got to pray for those people, man. ...

“You feel like they got to be in a really dark, dark spot, in an isolated, lonely spot,” he added. “So some sense throughout the week, I've kind of just felt like I hope that they're also kind of maybe getting into a better spot, too.”

McCullers said he’s relied on his faith and his support from his teammates, saying one day he hopes to be able to repay the favor.

“At the end of the day, this is what we do,” he said. “It's no different than people [who] got stuff going on in their lives all the time, right? … We come to the park every day, trying to be the best we can, and that's it. I was just ready to pitch again and would love to go five [innings], would love to go six, but all things considered, I think I'm on the right path. … I feel like it was a good building block.”

Pitching deeper into games will require becoming more efficient. McCullers needed 83 pitches to throw four innings against the Rangers, with the second inning becoming extended when shortstop Jeremy Peña couldn’t catch a throw from McCullers on a potential double-play ball. That led to a pair of unearned runs scoring for Texas and likely cost McCullers a chance to finish five innings.

Still, he threw 53 strikes for a solid 63.9 strike percentage and he was consistently ahead of hitters. The next step is finding the pitches to put hitters away and end at-bats earlier. The Rangers whiffed at seven pitches and fouled off 16 pitches.

“I felt like controlled the zone much, much better,” he said. “Obviously, I still feel I’m just lacking a little bit on the put-away stuff. I think that kind of let some at-bats roll through, extend a little bit longer than needed to. I would have liked to get another out there in the second and probably could have stretched the outing a little bit more, but overall I think it's a step in the right direction.”

-- While the Astros got McCullers back injury this year, they found out Sunday that right-hander Hayden Wesneski will be out for the rest of the season and is set to undergo Tommy John surgery. He was acquired from the Cubs with Cam Smith and Isaac Paredes for Kyle Tucker in December.

-- The Astros’ bullpen has been terrific overall this season and entered Wednesday with a 2.75 ERA, which was second in the Major Leagues behind the Giants.

-- Slugger Yordan Alvarez, who’s been out since May 3 with a strained muscle in his hand, gave an update on his “very frustrating” injury to reporters Monday.

Which Astros pitcher hit an inside-the-park home run for his first and only Major League hit?

A. Pete Harnisch

B. Butch Henry

C. Xavier Hernandez

D. Doug Jones

As part of the Speaker Series tour, fans can tour Daikin Park and have a one-hour question-and-answer session with former Astros players and other prominent figures. The next one is Saturday, when Terry Puhl and Jose Cruz -- two staples of the Astros in the 1980s -- will be participating. The cost is $65 per guest.

Fans can take pictures and get autographs from the speakers. After the discussion, attendees will watch Astros batting practice from the Crawford Boxes. Art Howe and Larry Dierker will participate on June 28. Tickets can be found here.

B. Henry

Henry blooped a pitch from Pittsburgh’s Doug Drabek down the left-field at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh on May 8, 1992, and scored after Barry Bonds’ failed diving attempt allowed the ball to go to the wall.

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