Lance McCullers Jr. Pitches Into Fifth Inning
Lance McCullers Jr. appeared in the fifth inning of a major-league game in Thursday's win over the Seattle Mariners for the first time since Oct. 23 of 2022. He also reached 94.3 mph on the 91st pitch while acknowledging that he had "more in the tank." McCullers struck out eight batters in 4 1/3 innings and generated 14 whiffs -- he had 15 whiffs in his first three starts combined. The velocity on his sinker also crept up to 92.1 mph on Thursday. The 31-year-old threw three pitches over 93 mph in his first three starts but threw seven of them to beat the M's. McCullers' stuff is starting to improve, but now he'll look for more efficiency to go deeper into games following his long layoff of big-league action due to injuries. Walks have been an issue so far, and he now has a 6.57 ERA and 2.03 WHIP in 12 1/3 frames in his first major-league action since 2022.
Source: The Athletic - Chandler Rome
Houston Astros right-hander Source: The Athletic - Chandler Rome

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