Houston Astros star pitcher Lance McCullers Jr will start Game 4 after originally being slated for Game 3 of the ALCS. The decision to start Christian Javier over McCullers reportedly stems from a minor injury McCullers suffered following the Astros' victory over the Seattle Mariners, per Bob Nightengale.
Nightengale reports that McCullers said he “caught a spare champagne bottle to the elbow bone.” The pitcher is expected to be okay, but had his originally scheduled outing pushed back.
Nevertheless, this Lance McCullers injury is a strange one. He revealed exactly what happened during the celebration, per Bob Nightengale.
“Some guys were kind of coming back behind me, and the bottle just happened to kind of hit the back inside part of my elbow as the people were passing by,” Lance McCullers said. “It wasn't like we were getting wild.”
The injury is unfortunate without question. But it could have been a whole lot worse. The Astros are certainly joyful McCullers doesn't need to miss an extended amount of time. He is a key piece of their rotation.
Lance McCullers isn't the first player this postseason to get injured during a celebration. Phillies reliever David Robertson was forced to miss the NLDS after celebrating a Bryce Harper home run during the NL Wild Card series.
Celebrations are fun and necessary. Teams deserve to pop some bottles after winning a playoff series. But caution needs to be advised. The last thing a team wants is for a key player to suffer a brutal injury following a victory.