Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. reacts after New York Yankees’ Ben Rice’s RBI into a fielder’s choice during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/ Karen Warren)
Karen Warren/Associated Press
A budding trend prompted Lance McCullers Jr. to try something different Friday. First innings have been strenuous for the Houston Astros right-hander since a strong season debut, putting himself and his club in a tough position early in his starts.
Before making his fifth, McCullers moved up his pregame bullpen session. He made location a focus and the session “a little bit more intense.” He returned to the dugout at Daikin Park with a few extra minutes to revisit his game plan before taking the mound to face the New York Yankees.
His roughest first inning yet ensued. McCullers needed 30 pitches to finish an inning in which the Yankees scored three runs, aided by an error on second baseman Jose Altuve, taking a lead they never ceded in a 12-4 rout of Houston in the opener of a three-game series.
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McCullers threw five innings in the loss. He was charged with seven runs (five earned), allowing six hits, a pair of home runs and four walks. He has a 6.75 ERA through five starts totaling 25⅓ innings. Following the latest, McCullers pointed to the first inning as an area requiring a fix.
“Stuff’s good,” McCullers said. “I think it just boils down to: I’ve got to control the first inning better. It’s really nothing more than that. It’s not a stuff thing, it’s not a game plan thing, it’s not a health thing. It’s just simply got to do a better job controlling the first inning.”
In his previous start against St. Louis, McCullers allowed two first-inning runs on two hit batsmen, a walk and a single. Before that, in Seattle, he issued a leadoff walk prior to a two-run home run by Cal Raleigh. In a scoreless first April 5 against the A’s, he navigated two walks and a hit and threw 20 pitches.
“No matter the runs or how they come across or whatever the case, you get down early and you’re just flipping the lineup, you’re just making it tough on yourself as a pitcher,” McCullers said. “The last three games I’ve done a nice job settling in as the game’s gone on, found a way to make it to the fifth, sixth inning. It’s just a tough hole to climb out of and a tough spot to navigate a game as a starting pitcher.”
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It has put McCullers’ offense in a hole in each of his last three starts, as well. Houston entered Friday’s game with the highest OPS and averaging the most runs per game among American League teams, but falling behind early can increase the pressure on any lineup. That the Yankees brought the lowest team ERA in the majors into this series in Houston only enhanced the hazard in that formula.
Friday, the Astros trailed 3-0 before they took an at-bat. New York’s offense entered the game with the majors’ lowest swing rate and sixth-lowest chase rate. Astros manager Joe Espada noted pre-game his pitching staff’s need to “control the strike zone” against a lineup that is “very precise when they swing the bats” and “like to slug” when they do.
McCullers, at the outset, did not. Trent Grisham drew a walk to open the game. Aaron Judge followed with another. They saw 12 combined pitches and swung once. Cody Bellinger singled on the Yankees’ second swing of the game, loading the bases. McCullers then induced two ground balls he needed, but one yielded no outs due to Altuve’s errant flip to second base.
The other did produce a double play, started by McCullers. But he could not put Jazz Chisholm Jr. away after getting to two strikes. Chisholm lined a full-count cutter for a two-run single. The 30-pitch inning was McCullers’ most strenuous of the game by far. He did work into the sixth for the first time since his season debut against Boston but departed in a 6-2 deficit.
“He kept pitching,” Espada said. “I thought the use of the fastball today was better … But he needs to continue to be aggressive. I think for Lance it’s being ahead. Once he’s ahead he can expand and he can set the tone. But if you’re behind in the count it can be really hard to execute and get people out.”
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McCullers said he “felt like I mixed and matched pretty well” with his fastballs against a lineup with six left-handed hitters. He threw more cutters his first time through the order and more sinkers the second time. The Yankees did not swing much, offering at 31 of 92 pitches he threw, and chased just five pitches outside the zone. The 16 balls they put in play averaged a 95.4 mph exit velocity.
Ryan McMahon hit a cutter the other way into the first row of the Crawford Boxes in the second inning. Chisholm sent a changeup into the right-field seats in the fourth. Ben Rice doubled on a sinker to open the sixth inning and scored on Giancarlo Stanton’s groundball single, which ended McCullers’ night. The Astros remain winless in his last four starts.
McCullers’ first month is only part of a broader issue. The Astros’ injury-riddled rotation entered Friday with the second-highest ERA in the majors. Five pitchers who have made multiple starts for them have an ERA of at least 6.50. McCullers’ season debut against Boston is one of their four quality starts in 27 games. Overall, the Astros have allowed six or more runs in 17 games amid a 10-17 start.
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Stability must come from somewhere. Spencer Arrighetti’s first two starts have been encouraging. Peter Lambert’s outing in Cleveland held promise. That the Astros are discussing possibly stretching out Kai-Wei Teng, their most reliable reliever so far, illustrates their need for production from starters. Perhaps McCullers’ stated focus can be the first step toward providing more.
“Clean the first inning up, do a better job controlling the first, and I think everything falls into place just fine,” McCullers said.