AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: YANKEES VS ASTROS

October 21, 2022

Lance McCullers

Yankee Stadium

Houston Astros

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. Dusty said you had a mishap. Would you be able to explain to us what happened?

LANCE MCCULLERS: 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. I threw a bullpen today. It was 35 pitches. It was a great bullpen.

We just wanted to give me, 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. Game 3 and Game 4 starters can't come back in the CS on normal rest, I mean, you can come back on short rest, but without the off days. So not a huge deal, just a decision that was made, and that's it.

But I wanted to be the one to tell you guys. I didn't want Dusty having to speak for me. So it was just an unfortunate accident and I'll be good to go.

Q. So it wasn't cut or anything?

LANCE MCCULLERS: It was a small cut.

Q. It was cut and hit?

LANCE MCCULLERS: It was a small cut. But, yes, I just got hit with a bottle.

Q. So I have to ask: You got hit. How did that -- were there things being thrown around?

LANCE MCCULLERS: No, no, no. I was standing kind of on the edge of the celebration and I was just, my back, and someone, some guys were kind of coming back behind me, and the bottle just happened to kind of hit the back inside part of my elbow as the people were passing by.

Like I said, it wasn't like we were getting wild. I mean, it was, I was standing there, he was walking by, it just happened to hit me in the right spot. Obviously I've had like Tommy John and stuff. Everything's fine. Like I said, I've been playing catch all week, threw a -- Miller had to tell me I had to stop throwing today on the hill. He said, You've thrown too many pitches. We got to cut it off.

And we just decided as an organization, a medical staff, and everything earlier in the week that it was better just to take our time with it, not to push anything, and to shoot for Game 4, and everything's worked out well. We're playing great baseball. Christian is going to pitch great, and I'll be ready for 4.

Q. What was your initial reaction? Like, oh, there's trouble here, or did you think there was right away?

LANCE MCCULLERS: Yeah, it was, I was just like, no, you know. It just doesn't seem like it can ever be easy, but that's okay.

Q. Was there ever any concern that you wouldn't be able to pitch in this series?

LANCE MCCULLERS: I don't think so. Rosters were set what day? Tuesday? Wednesday? So rosters were set Wednesday. I played catch Tuesday. We didn't come to the field on Monday. I don't think we did, at least. Maybe for a small period of time.

But played catch on Tuesday. I was like, yeah, sure, I would love to, you know, if you guys want to give me the extra day, we'll take it, push the bullpen back, kind of the whole thing, push the lifting back.

So they asked me Wednesday morning, they said, Is everything going to be okay? And I said, Absolutely. So we're good to go.