Astros' Lance McCullers Jr. makes feelings known after receiving death threats

Houston Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. had his worst start of his career against the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday. The two-time World Series winner was taken for seven earned runs in a 10-run surge in the first inning of the game.

In his first start of the season in Houston, McCullers Jr. allowed seven runs, lasting just one-third of an inning. However, things went from bad to worse as the club revealed that the Astros pitcher and his family received death threats after his rough outing.

McCullers, who has missed the entire 2023 and 2024 seasons due to a tendon surgery, shared his feelings on the death threats.

"I understand people are very passionate and people love the Astros and love sports, but threatening to find my kids and murder them is a little bit tough to deal with," McCullers said, The Athletic's Chandler Rome.

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The 31-year-old starter has played his entire eight-year career with the Astros since making his MLB debut in 2015. While McCullers said he received threats in the past, it was never directed at his children.

“There have been many threats over the years, aimed at me mostly. … But I think bringing kids into the equation, threatening to find them, or next time they see us in public they’re going to stab my kids to death, things like that, is tough to hear as a dad.”

Astros manager addresses death threats to Lance McCullers Jr.

Astros manager Joe Espada was the first to reveal the death threats received by the ace after Saturday's game. The team informed the Houston Police Department and MLB Security about the incident. Espada said the news of threats to Lance McCullers' kids drove him "nuts."

“I just left my office, and it’s very unfortunate that Lance McCullers — that there are people who are threatening his life and the lives of his kids because of his performance,” Espada said.

"After all he’s done for this city, for this team, the fact that we have to talk about that in my office … I’ve got kids, too. And it really drives me nuts that we have to deal with this. Very sad. Very, very sad.”

Espada backed his pitcher despite his rough outing and said it will "take a little bit of time" for the two-time World Series champion to get his groove back on the mound.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash