Red Sox News: Astros ace Lance McCullers’ uncertain status could sway ALCS

Will the Red Sox face Astros ace Lance McCullers in the ALCS?

The Houston Astros wrapped up their series with the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday to advance to the American League Championship Series. We know that the Astros will host the Boston Red Sox  in Game 1 on Friday night. What’s less clear is if their ace will be available to begin the series.

Lance McCullers started two of the four games in the ALDS against the White Sox, including yesterday’s decisive Game 4. The right-hander was pulled after only four innings and 73 pitches with his team leading 5-1. While it’s not unusual for managers to have a short leash on their starters during the postseason, Dusty Baker’s post-game comments raise a few alarms for the Astros.

According to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, Baker revealed that right forearm tightness was the reason he pulled McCullers early in a potential series-clinching game. McCullers is expected to undergo further evaluation.

KTRK’s Greg Bailey adds a quote from Baker in which the manager stated, “I only pulled him because he was hurt.” He called McCullers a “warrior” but admitted his starter’s status for the ALCS is unclear.

While Baker’s comments have Astros fans ready to hit the panic button, McCullers downplayed the severity of his condition, according to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle.

"“At that point, the score to the game was, what, 5-1 or something like that?” McCullers said after the 10-1 win. “I felt like I’d thrown the ball really well for the team and figured with the (White Sox) lineup coming around for a third time, I wasn’t on short rest necessarily, but my routine was short.”"

McCullers was working on four days of rest, as he’d done for 10 of his 28 regular-season starts, following his Game 1 start when he tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings against the White Sox.

While the pitcher doesn’t appear to be too worried, McCullers expressed some frustration that he wasn’t able to pitch deep into an important game. He explained that he hasn’t experienced this type of forearm tightness in the past and couldn’t confirm his level of concern until after he gets it checked out.

McCullers did mention that he doesn’t think this issue has anything to do with his elbow ligament, which should come as some relief to the Astros. McCullers missed the 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Uncertain status of McCullers could favor the Red Sox

The Astros will get a few days off before the ALCS begins, leaving plenty of time to evaluate McCullers. It would have to be fairly serious to keep the competitive McCullers out of this series but gauging the severity at this point depends on whether you believe the reaction from the pitcher or his manager.

If he’s available for this series but isn’t ready to go in Game 1 on Friday, McCullers could potentially be limited to only one start against the Red Sox instead of two. The less they see of McCullers, the better for Boston.

McCullers had an excellent season in Houston, going 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA and 10.3 K/9. He has a tendency to get a bit wild with a league-leading 76 walks but he also owned a 6.8 H/9 and 0.7 HR/9 that were both the best in the league among qualified starters.

The right-hander owns an underwhelming 5.40 ERA against the Red Sox in his career but he hasn’t faced them since 2018. Boston went 2-5 against Houston this year despite avoiding their best starting pitcher.

Houston has other options to turn to if McCullers isn’t cleared to open this series. Framber Valdez (11-6, 3.14 ERA) and Luis Garcia (11-8, 3.30 ERA) were the only other Astros pitchers to start a game in the ALDS. Neither pitched particular well, failing to make it through five innings while allowing at least four earned runs, but both will likely be trusted to log a few innings before turning the game over to their bullpen. Zack Greinke isn’t the Cy Young-caliber pitcher he once was but he had a solid season and brings plenty of experience to the table.

The Astros pitching staff remains formidable with or without McCullers but the Red Sox would prefer to avoid him all the same. While we certainly wish the best for his long-term health, if McCullers misses time or is limited during the ALCS, it could sway the series in Boston’s favor.