Los Angeles Dodgers’ starter Yu Darvish was pulled in the second inning of Wednesday’s World Series Game 7, but Houston Astros’ starter Lance McCullers Jr. didn’t last much longer. McCullers was pulled in the third inning after striking out first baseman Cody Bellinger, one at-bat after he hit third baseman Justin Turner for the second time on the night. McCullers also previously hit pinch hitter Kiké Hernandez (in the second inning), right fielder Yasiel Puig (in the first) and Turner again (also in the first). That gives him a rather ignominious record:
McCullers sets playoff record with 4 HPs in a game.
— Mark Whicker (@MWhicker03) November 2, 2017
Yes, apparently no one has ever hit four batters in the same postseason game before. And that even sparked some calls in the stands to eject McCullers, which Whicker (a columnist for the Orange County Register) rightfully noted were insane:
Some real savants in the stadium are yelling "Throw him out," like McCullers meant to hit Turner with a 5-0 lead in Game 7.
— Mark Whicker (@MWhicker03) November 2, 2017
Those definitely weren’t intentional hits given the stakes and situation. But they also weren’t minor ones, with the fastball that hit Turner the second time particularly getting away and hitting the Dodgers’ third baseman in the back, under the shoulder blade. Here’s a look at Fox’s replay of that:
It’s amazing that this is a postseason record, considering the long history of Major League Baseball. But others probably have been pulled before it got to that point thanks to giving up more hits and runs as well as hitting batters. For all his wildness, and the three hits he also allowed (a double to center fielder Chris Taylor in the first and singles to second baseman Logan Forsythe and shortstop Corey Seager in the second and third), though, McCullers managed to get out of jams, stranding three runners in the first by getting left fielder Joc Pederson to ground out to second and then getting Taylor to line into an inning-ending double play in the second. So that helped McCullers make some further history:
Lance McCullers Jr. is the first pitcher since Jack Morris in 1991 to start a World Series Game 7 and not allow a run.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 2, 2017
He may not have had much control Wednesday and may have been pulled early, but McCullers managed to give his team two and a third shutout innings and left with a 5-0 lead. None of the runners he left for reliever Brad Peacock scored, either, as Peacock got Puig to fly out to center and then struck out Pederson. Not bad for someone who hit a playoff-record four batters. He’d probably rather remember joining Morris in the no-runs-allowed Game 7 club, though.
