Houston Astros ace Lance McCullers Jr. not available for World Series

HOUSTON – Houston Astros ace starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. told reporters on Monday he will not be available to pitch during the World Series.

The star pitcher had left Game 4 of the ALDS in Chicago on October 12 after 4 innings and 73 pitches with a forearm strain and hasn’t pitched since. He was not on the Astros’ ALCS roster but was on the taxi squad just in case for emergency call-up.

But on Monday, McCullers made it clear for what any expectations of a comeback from injury should be heading into the World Series.

“I’m not going to be able to make it, not going to be able to make it to the roster for the World Series,” McCullers said. “With the type of strain that I have in my forearm, it’s typically 6-8 weeks before you pick up a ball. We remained hopeful. We tried to push it as far as we could, but just couldn’t make it back to throwing.”

Before the injury, in two postseason starts spanning 10.2 innings, McCullers was 1-0 with a 0.84 ERA. In the regular season, McCullers had a 13-5 record with a 3.16 ERA, with 185 strikeouts in 162.1 innings pitched.

“It’s disappointing,” he said. “But I’m just going to keep doing what I can do and have all the faith in our team and the guys we have out there and try to win a World Series.”

Game 1 of the World Series begins on Tuesday at Minute Maid Park. The complete schedule can be found here.

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