Here's How Houston Astros' World Series Champ Lance McCullers Jr Did in Rehab Assignment

Pitching for Triple-A Sugarland on Sunday afternoon, McCullers went 2.0 innings in his first affiliated game action since 2022.

Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. (43) poses for a photo at the Houston Astros media day on Feb. 20. | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

Pitching for the first time since 2022 on Sunday, Houston Astros' starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. went 2.0 solid innings for Triple-A Sugarland.

The Space Cowboys lost 3-2 against the Oklahoma City Comets, the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. McCullers went 2.0 innings, giving up two earned runs on two hits. He walked one and struck out three, including the first three batters he faced.

Lance McCullers Jr. is back 👀

Making his first regular season appearance since 2022, the @astros hurler strikes out the first three batters he faces for the @SLSpaceCowboys. pic.twitter.com/IITiujSGtJ

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) March 30, 2025

It's unclear how long the Astros plan to keep McCullers on rehab assignment, but it's fair to assume that he'll take all the allotted time. He's missed all of 2023 and 2024 with injury. He also missed most of 2022 and all of 2019. He also only made one Grapefruit League appearance this spring.

Lifetime, McCullers is 49-32 with a 3.48 ERA. He's been an excellent pitcher for Houston in his career, helping them win the World Series in both 2017 and 2022, however injuries have been the real problem. He's now 31 years old. He isn't the only Astros pitcher recovering from injury, as Cristian Javier and Luis Garcia are both recovering from Tommy John surgeries.

The Astros are 2-1 on the season after taking the season-opening series from the New York Mets. They'll continue their season on Monday night, as they open a home series with the San Francisco Giants. Right-hander Ronel Blanco goes for Houston against Jordan Hicks.

As is customary at Triple-A, the Space Cowboys are off on Monday. They'll open a new series on Tuesday on the road at the Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Rays).

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