Lance McCullers Jr. blanked the Pirates for six innings, striking out seven, in the Astros’ 3-0 victory Tuesday.
McCullers gave up a 384-foot shot to Andrew McCutchen that would have been a homer in 24 ballparks, but PNC wasn’t one of them. That was one of nine hard-hit balls McCullers surrendered, yet most of them were routine flies and he allowed just two hits before leaving with a 1-0 lead in the matchup against Paul Skenes. This makes back-to-back very positive starts for him, so he’s definitely reemerging as a mixed-league option. He’ll probably make his next start Sunday in Cleveland.