Lance McCullers Jr. turned in an up-and-down start against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday. He allowed two earned runs in three innings of work during the spring training outing, but he also struck out four hitters and only walked one hitter. McCullers commented on his performance after his outing, via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
“I was super happy with today,” McCullers said. “Obviously, you know, the homer, but outside of that, I mean, I think I threw like nine of 14 first pitch strikes. Lot of strikes in the zone in general, like lot of batters ahead. My changeup came along. Was really good in the third… In the third, it was really, really good.”
Lance McCullers Jr. focusing on the positives
McCullers has dealt with injury trouble over the years. The 32-year-old was an All-Star back in 2017, but he has not made more than 17 appearances in a season since 2021. In 2025, McCullers made 16 outings.
McCullers is hoping to have a healthy 2026 season. He wants to build off of encouraging outings in spring training. It is not about the numbers right now. Rather, McCullers is looking at the underlying promising results.
“Outside of the homer… I was really happy with today,” McCullers added.
The Astros and Orioles game is currently tied 6-6 in the 7th inning. Of course, wins and losses do not matter in spring training, but the Astros will attempt to emerge victorious nonetheless. Meanwhile, Lance McCullers Jr. will look for more encouraging results in his next spring training outing as Opening Day draws near.
