I thought Lance McCullers Jr. was washed up. A casualty of age, two separate major arm injuries, and two years absence from an MLB mound.
But I bet I wasn’t alone in my doubts. Be honest, dear Astros fans, you probably felt that way too.
Maybe we forgot the Lance that threw 20-some straight curves in the 2017 ALCS to flatten the mighty Yankees. Or the determination that helped him gut through three innings to start that year’s victorious Game 7 World Series despite physical exhaustion.
We should never have doubted that Lance would not give up his unlikely quest to return to greatness on the mound.