Lance McCullers Jr. Missing ALCS Game 3 After Celebration Injury

The right-hander’s scheduled start will be pushed back.

Lance McCullers Jr. won’t be taking the mound for the Astros in Game 3 of the ALCS on Saturday. Turns out, that’s because a recent celebration in Houston went a bit too far.

Speaking to reporters Friday, McCullers revealed he sustained a small cut to his throwing elbow after being hit by a champagne bottle during the team’s victory celebration after the American League divisional series against the Mariners. He made clear that he’s feeling O.K. now, but that he was dealing with some swelling over the past few days. 

Because of the swelling, McCullers will get an extra day of rest and start for Houston in Game 4 of the ALCS in New York. The Astros will hand the ball to Cristian Javier to start Saturday’s Game 3.

“It was really no one’s fault,” McCullers said, per Sports Illustrated’s Stephanie Apstein. “It was just an accident. So, it’s not a huge deal.”

Lance McCullers Jr “caught a champagne bottle to the elbow” during the ALDS clubhouse celebration after beating the Mariners. “I’m fine..it was no one’s fault, it was an accident” pic.twitter.com/7D7DQKkzof

— SportsTalk 790 (@SportsTalk790) October 21, 2022

McCullers reiterated that he’s on the mend and will have no limitations to his start on Sunday. He threw a 35-pitch bullpen session on Friday, which he described as “great.”

When asked for further details about the situation, McCullers described the incident and subsequent injury as an “unfortunate accident.”

“Some guy was kind of coming back behind me and the bottle just happened to kind of hit the back inside a part of my elbow as the people were passing by,” McCullers said. “It wasn’t like we were getting wild. I was standing there. He was walking by, just happened to hit me in the right spot.”

McCullers last pitched in Houston’s Game 3 victory over Seattle in the ALDS. He allowed two hits and struck out seven in six scoreless innings as the Astros clinched their sixth straight trip to the ALCS.