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Five days after being traded from the only Major League Baseball team he's known, Lance McCullers Jr., made his Milwaukee Brewers debut.
McCullers, who was traded by the Houston Astros on Wednesday, threw three innings of relief, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk with four strikeouts in an 8-3 Brewers win over the New York Mets on Monday at Milwaukee's American Family Field. The win pushed Milwaukee ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in baseball.
McCullers' debut got off to an excellent start with him retiring the first seven batters he faced after entering the game in the sixth inning with an 8-1 lead. He ran into some trouble in the eighth when he walked Juan Soto with one out and gave up a double to Bo Bichette. He allowed a run on a Francisco Lindor ground out and another on a Jorge Polanco single.
"Had a nice first, nice second, ran into a little bit of trouble in the third but that happens and worked out of it," McCullers told reporters after the game.
McCullers was operating on nine days' rest with his last outing coming in a rehab start with Triple-A Sugar Land. His velocity was about on par with what he had before suffering a shoulder injury in May. He did mix up his repertoire a bit by throwing 13 changeups in his 50-pitch outing. He had used the changeup just 14% of the time before Monday. The changeup worked, getting two whiffs on the three swings it drew.
It was just the seventh regular season relief appearance of McCullers' big-league career.
"Everyone's been awesome in this clubhouse," McCullers said. "The coaching staff has been super supportive. We've been talking through some mechanical things here and there that we think can make my pitches a little more efficient. At the end of the day, (pitching out of the bullpen and for a new team) is a little bit of an adjustment, but you still have to go out there and do your job."
McCullers couldn't wear the No. 43 he wore in his 12 years with the Astros because it's being used by starting pitcher Logan Henderson, so he opted for No. 50, which is the number his father Lance McCullers Sr., wore when he made his big-league debut with the San Diego Padres in 1985.
The Astros traded McCullers along with pitcher Colton Gordon in exchange for Single-A outfielder Jadyn Fielder. Gordon reported to Triple-A Nashville and made his debut Saturday, allowing four earned runs in five innings. Fielder, the son of Prince Fielder and grandson of Cecil Fielder, has played two games for the Astros' Single-A team in Fayetteville, going 1-for-6 with a double.
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