The Houston Astros managed to pick up a series victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday afternoon, coasting to a 6-0 win in the rubber match. However, on Saturday, things did not go nearly as well, as the Astros quickly fell behind to the Reds thanks to a horrific outing from Lance McCullers Jr. After the game, McCullers revealed he and his family were receiving death threats, which led to a strong reaction from manager Joe Espada.
McCullers has made his return to the mound this season after not having pitched in an MLB game since the 2022 campaign. While his return was a welcome sight considering his prior All-Star form, McCullers struggled mightily after a solid first outing against the Chicago White Sox. However, Espada noted that fans were taking things too far by sending death threats to the veteran starting pitcher.
Joe Espada Does Not Hold Back on Fans Sending Lance McCullers Jr. Death Threats
In his first outing since 2022, McCullers threw 3.2 scoreless innings against the White Sox, giving up three hits and three walks while striking out four. It was an encouraging performance from McCullers considering the circumstances, and there was reason to believe that he would be able to immediately slot right back into the team’s starting rotation.
That train of thought fell apart on Saturday, though, as McCullers only managed to get one out before he was pulled from the game. That’s because he gave up seven earned runs on three hits, three walks, and one hit batter. It was a nightmare outing, as Houston fell in a 10-0 hole before they even had a chance to get to the plate. While they would fight their way back into the game, they eventually suffered a 13-9 loss.
Making matters even worse was that he found himself and his family revealing death threats because of his poor performance. There are lines that should never be crossed in sports, and this is one of them. Espada made that abundantly clear when defending McCullers in the wake of his atrocious outing, putting the fans sending him these messages on blast.
“There are people who are threatening his life and the life of his kids because of his performance,” Espada said. “It is very unfortunate that we have to deal with this. After all he’s done for this city, for his team, the fact that we have to talk about that in my office — I got kids too, and it really drives me nuts that we have to deal with this. Very sad. Very, very sad.
“Listen, he hasn’t pitched in 2½ years. … It’s going to take a little bit of time to get him going. And that’s fine. But this can’t happen. I’m really upset that this can happen to athletes.”
Joe Espada, Astros Bounce Back After Lance McCullers Jr.’s Rough Outing
GettyJoe Espada wasn’t happy with Astros fans sending death threats to Lance McCullers Jr.
It was encouraging for Astros fans to see their squad bounce back after an ugly loss on Sunday, pushing their record back above .500 at 20-19 with this win. However, they need to develop a bit more consistency with their play, if they want to stay in contention for the top spot in the wide-open American League West division.
With their series against Cincinnati in the books, Houston will turn their attention towards the Kansas City Royals, who had been on a roll prior to losing two games in their three-game set with the Boston Red Sox. This series will kick off on Monday night, with first pitch scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET.
Astros Manager Slams Fans Who Sent Death Threats to Pitcher