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Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. said his team’s fans have turned on him in the worst way.
After a rough start on Saturday, where he allowed seven earned runs in just one-third of an inning pitched against the Cincinnati Reds, McCullers said he received death threats from Astros fans online.
“I understand people are very passionate and people love the Astros and love sports, but threatening to find my kids and murder them is a little bit tough to deal with,” the 31-year-old right-hander said. “So, just as a father, I think there have been many, many threats over the years aimed at me mostly, and I think actually one or two people from other issues around baseball actually had to go to jail for things like that.
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Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. walks off the mound after a pitching change during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Daikin Park. (Troy Taormina-Imagn Images)
“But I think bringing kids into the equation, threatening to find them or next time they see us in public, they’re going to stab my kids to death, things like that, it’s tough to hear as a dad.”
Houston Police Department and MLB security have both been alerted to the threats against McCullers, the organization said.
This was only McCullers’ second start for the Astros since the 2022 World Series, as he’s been battling through several injuries over the last two seasons.
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It was disastrous from the start as Elly De La Cruz hit a three-run homer after McCullers walked TJ Friedl and hit Matt McLain with a pitch to start the game. McCullers got an out following the home run, but two more walks and two hits after that quickly turned the game to a 5-0 lead.
Manager Joe Espada had to pull the plug on McCullers, but the base runners on second and third were still his responsibility. They came across later in the 10-run first inning for Cincinnati.
Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. walks off the mound after a pitching change during the Cincinnati Reds game at Daikin Park. (Troy Taormina-Imagn Images)
Espada also spoke on the death threats against his veteran starter.
“There are people who are threatening his life and the life of his kids because of his performance,” Espada explained. “It is very unfortunate that we have to deal with this. After all he’s done for this city, for his team, the fact that we have to talk about that in my office – I got kids, too, and it really drives me nuts that we have to deal with this. Very sad, very, very sad.”
McCullers is a two-time World Series champion trying to find consistency on the mound once again. His injury problems began in spring training in 2023, when a muscle strain in his pitching arm shut him down. Then, in June of that year, he underwent season-ending surgery to repair a flexor tendon in his arm as well as remove a bone spur.
McCullers’ rehab didn’t go as planned either. In July 2024, he was shut down from throwing and it was announced he would miss the entire season. He would finally get his chance back on the mound on May 4, where he threw three scoreless innings against the Chicago White Sox.
Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. reacts after a pitch against the Cincinnati Reds at Daikin Park. (Troy Taormina-Imagn Images)
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“If you fail, you fail on a very large stage (with) a lot of eyes and there’s nowhere to hide,” McCullers added. “At the end of the day, I just want to do my job. I just want to be a good pitcher for the Astros, and I believe I’ll get there. But, like I said, I just think that having to worry about that, worry about leaving town and leaving them and things like that or dropping her off at school, I just think… there should be some type of decency.”
McCullers, who made the All-Star team in 2017, owns a career 3.55 ERA with the Astros, even after his rough outing on Saturday. He also has a 3.47 ERA in 19 postseason games, all with Houston.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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