Like every other Astros starting pitcher this year, Lance McCullers was breezing through the start of the 2018 season. As he toed the rubber against the Twins to start what was to be his 14th inning of the year, he boasted a 2.83 FIP with 22 strikeouts.
Then he walked Max Kepler. And then Byron Buxton. A single followed his 23rd strikeout and just like that (snaps fingers), the floodgates didn’t just open, they were blown off their hinges.
Single. Walk. Triple. Single. Out. Home run.
A 1-0 Houston lead was suddenly, unexpectedly, an 8-1 deficit.