HOUSTON — On the most depressing day of this dismal season, a portion of Lance McCullers Jr.’s fingernail fell off. For a team finding every feasible way to get injured, from batting practice swings to bolting down the first-base line and everything in between, it represented something new.
McCullers faced eight batters before breaking his nail. Those inside the Houston Astros’ dugout noticed his discomfort and sprang into action. Head athletic trainer Eric Velazquez and manager Joe Espada visited McCullers on the mound during the third inning. So did pitching coach Josh Miller.
“Probably didn’t have anything after that (inning),” McCullers admitted afterward. “But (I) was trying to get through the third, trying to give whoever was going to come in a clean inning.”
And so, after both visits, McCullers remained in the game. His selflessness is admirable and, against the backdrop of Wednesday’s brutal news about Carlos Correa, understandable.
Few players in the Astros’ clubhouse are closer to Correa than McCullers. They were picked in the same 2012 draft class and began their major-league careers side-by-side. McCullers is a godfather to one of Correa’s sons. He called Correa’s season-ending injury “pretty devastating.”
“That’s my guy,” McCullers said. “I know he’s been through a lot. I’m just so proud of him, the man he is. I really feel bad for him. Such a big part of our clubhouse, a team leader and such a great player.”
McCullers leading Houston to a win Wednesday would’ve been a fitting response on a rotten day. However, McCullers does still require a functioning right index finger to throw a curveball. It is one of his most valuable weapons against left-handed hitters. The Los Angeles Dodgers started six of them, along with a switch-hitter, on Wednesday afternoon.
McCullers faced five of those hitters during his fingernail-less third frame. Four of them reached base, three worked walks and all came around to score in the Dodgers’ 12-2 win at Daikin Park. The only left-handed hitter McCullers retired, Max Muncy, struck out against one of the few curveballs McCullers could execute.
“I couldn’t really throw it the rest of the inning,” McCullers said. “But it’s not an excuse, just kind of down a pitch and I was trying to make it through. When they came out, I said, ‘Hey, let me make it through this inning.’ When Josh came out, I said, ‘I can try to make good pitches and get out of this inning clean.’”
That McCullers could not is an apt illustration of the Astros’ reality. No right choice exists when managing baseball’s worst pitching staff, one that inflated its ERA to 5.82 during Wednesday’s loss. Houston has now allowed eight or more runs in 17 of its first 38 games.
McCullers allowed six of them on Wednesday, raising his ERA to 7.41 after 34 innings. Houston has lost six of his first seven starts. When the eighth will occur is unknown. Asked whether his fingernail could prevent him from making his next turn in the rotation, McCullers replied, “I don’t know. We’ll see.”
After breaking his fingernail, McCullers walked three batters, allowed a double to Shohei Ohtani, a home run to Andy Pages and uncorked two wild pitches, each with a runner at third base. Both of them scored.
If McCullers’ fingernail does not heal within the next five days, those results alone should sound alarms and perhaps offer a more definitive answer about his availability. An off day Thursday will allow Houston’s pitching staff to reset. After it does, a stretch of 13 games in as many days looms. Seven of them are against either the Texas Rangers or the defending American League West champion Seattle Mariners, a test that could determine whether this 15-23 team is capable of a turnaround.
Beginning it with starts from Mike Burrows on Friday and Spencer Arrighetti on Saturday — two of this starting rotation’s lone semblances of reliability — should provide some comfort. The team has not announced a starter for Sunday’s series finale against the Cincinnati Reds, but Thursday’s off day would allow Houston to bring Peter Lambert back on four days of rest. Doing so after he threw 104 pitches on Tuesday may invite some risk.
Giving Lambert an extra day of rest and starting him in Monday’s series-opener against the Mariners may be more prudent. It would also give embattled right-hander Tatsuya Imai six days of rest before he makes his return to the major-league rotation. As it stands, though, Imai would be on five days of rest on Monday.
Starting Lambert on Monday and Imai on Tuesday would leave McCullers’ next spot in the rotation on Wednesday. If he cannot make the start, few of the options behind him inspire much confidence. Journeyman Jason Alexander relieved McCullers on Wednesday, permitted five runs of his own and got optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land after the game.
Alexander has now surrendered 10 runs in 6 1/3 major-league innings this season. Prospect Miguel Ullola started on Wednesday in Triple-A Sugar Land and, if McCullers must miss his next start, could emerge as an option to replace him. Whether the Astros would want Ullola to make his major-league debut against a divisional opponent, and in such stressful circumstances, is a legitimate question.
Ditto for fellow prospect Ethan Pecko, who is scheduled to start in Triple A on Friday. Brandon Bielak and Colton Gordon are more experienced possibilities.
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