Champagne Bottle Forces Astros To Adjust Rotation, While Yankees Will Turn To Taillon In Potential Game 5
A bottle of champagne forced the Astros to reconfigure their rotation for the American League Championship Series, but all is well for Houston’s staff.
Dusty Baker announced Friday that Cristian Javier will start Game 3 on Saturday, while Lance McCullers Jr. will start Game 4 on Sunday. McCullers was initially expected to start Game 3, but the right-hander had what Baker called a “mishap.”
McCullers explained that he suffered a minor injury when Houston celebrated its ALDS win over the Mariners.
“So, unfortunately, after the victory in Seattle, I caught a spare champagne bottle to the elbow bone. I'm okay. It was just a little bit of swelling, not a huge deal,” McCullers said, adding that he threw a 35-pitch bullpen Friday. “Earlier in the week, we thought it would be beneficial to give me some days off, let everything settle down, and give me an extra day to go Game 4. It was really no one's fault. It was just an accident. So it's not a huge deal.”
McCullers added that the bottle left a small cut, but he’s been playing catch all week.
Javier, meanwhile, has had success against the Yankees, spearheading a combined no-hitter at Yankee Stadium on June 25. Héctor Neris and Ryan Pressly assisted after Javier struck out 13 over seven innings.
Javier also held New York to one run over five innings in Houston on July 21.
The right-handed Javier has not pitched in a game since Oct. 1, but he recorded a 2.54 ERA over 30 games and 25 starts during the regular season.
The Yankees, trailing the series 0-2, will turn to Gerrit Cole in Game 3 and Nestor Cortes in Game 4. Jameson Taillon would take the ball in a potential Game 5 after a solid Game 1 performance.
“That's where I'm at right now on it,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Taillon. “Hard to envision going any other way.”
