Both Yu Darvish and Lance McCullers Jr. had little room for error and were forced to pitch on a short leash heading into Game 7 of the World Series on Wednesday, but no one could have predicted exactly how short their outings would be.
Neither pitcher was sharp, which was evident as soon as the game began, but the difference was that the Astros made Darvish pay for his mistakes, while the Dodgers could not muster any runs off McCullers.
Darvish was tagged for three hits and five runs (four earned) in only 1 2/3 innings of work. He failed to record a strikeout, and walked a batter as well. McCullers, to his credit, was a bit better, as he also gave up three hits, but struck out three batters. However, he somehow managed to hit four batters, which broke the previous record for hit batters in a World Series game (three).
McCullers did do a good job working out of jams by getting the Dodgers to swing and miss on some pitches out of the zone, which resulted in him leaving the game with his opponent still held scoreless. The problem is that he pitched for only 2 1/3 innings until being pulled by Astros manager A.J. Hinch.
It marked the first time in World Series history that neither starter pitched out of the third inning, a record that may not be broken for a long time. Social media, as you might imagine, featured some great reactions to the pitching woes in the game, and here are some of the best tweets posted during Game 7.
We’ll start with the ones involving Darvish.
Game 3 Yu Darvish: That was really, really bad.
Game 7 Yu Darvish: Hold my beer.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 2, 2017
Yu Darvish in six career post-season starts: 5.81 ERA. Not an ace. Don’t use the small-sample excuse.
— Gerry Fraley (@gfraley) November 2, 2017
So…the Dodgers got a total of 10 outs from Yu Darvish in two World Series starts
— J.A. Adande (@jadande) November 2, 2017
https://twitter.com/PhillyD/status/925893995733049345
https://twitter.com/flip_special/status/925893180377137153
Yu Darvish? More like Yu Garbage am I right?? pic.twitter.com/cWYOv53Lht
— Khaled (@khaled74) November 2, 2017
By reading @astros body language in the box and their approach against Darvish, perhaps he was tipping pitches. Astros' hitters capitalized.
— Alex Rodriguez (@AROD) November 2, 2017
Clayton Kershaw and Brad Peacock have batted in a Game 7 started by Yu Darvish and Lance McCullers
— Jeff Sullivan (@based_ball) November 2, 2017
Dodgers had best intentions when they traded for Darvish, but no matter what happens rest of night, he's been a bust…
— Bill Plaschke (@BillPlaschke) November 2, 2017
That could be an expensive outing for Darvish. Headed into free agency and he had two very rough starts in the World Series.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 2, 2017
The tweets about McCullers didn’t disappoint, either.
*me, sitting on the couch in my living room*
*gets hit by a Lance McCullers fastball*
ME: What the hell, Lance.
— FuzzBeedEli (@FuzzBeedEli) November 2, 2017
McCullers hit four batters. That’s two more men than Kevin Spacey hit on yesterday!
— Robert Wuhl (@RobertWuhl) November 2, 2017
Dodger fans booing McCullers hitting ANOTHER batter – as if it could be intentional with anything less than a 900-run lead – are idiots
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) November 2, 2017
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
Lance McCullers' highlight reel. #WorldSeries #Game7 pic.twitter.com/EiX9oVyFFR
— nascarcasm (@nascarcasm) November 2, 2017
https://twitter.com/BetTheGreek/status/925896224217157632
I know McCullers was far from sharp, but with a 5-0 lead and this bullpen, I think Hinch should've stuck with his starter a bit longer.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) November 2, 2017
Nice of McCullers to honor the city of Houston by drilling everything he set his eyes on
— Tyler Stafford (@tylercstafford) November 2, 2017
https://twitter.com/davelozo/status/925886476566564864
The outcome of a Game 7 rarely is predictable, but Wednesday’s pitching woes really left MLB fans and analysts wondering how these pitchers turned in such short outings.
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