Lance McCullers calls out Diamondbacks for opening roof during brutal outing

Yes, the Astros are back to their complaining ways

Despite cheating on their way to a World Series title in 2017 and essentially getting away with it with very little recourse, the Houston Astros are living in the present. Sign-stealing or not, Lance McCullers had the nerve to complain about a so-called unforeseen disadvantage during Houston’s 14-7 loss in the desert at Chase Field.

McCullers was lit up, especially after the fourth inning, when Arizona opted to open the stadium roof, a move that’s actually fairly common practice for them if the weather holds up. Of course, with that comes a change of setting, and arguably leads to more home runs and less pitcher-friendly conditions.

McCullers wasn’t thrilled with the D’Backs decision, even though the team was informed about it before the game by manager Dusty Baker

“Opening the roof in the fourth is ass,” McCullers said, per the Houston Chronicle. “It’s not an excuse. It just is what it is. Balls were being hit that were routine pop-ups and they were landing off walls. It was kind of just an unfortunate inning.”

After McCullers’ initial complaint, Baker made it clear he had informed his team that the roof would be opened at some point during the game. Apparently, that didn’t do enough to prepare McCullers for the unforeseen.

“There was some routine balls that kind of carried up there and got deep,” McCullers continued, per MLB.com. “It got very dry. I was trying to lick my fingers. I was warned I couldn’t do that. Obviously, COVID. … But like I said, the stuff was there. I felt really good. So, I’ll just keep moving forward.”

McCullers’ concerns ring hollow given Houston’s past transgressions, and sound like an excuse for a start that unraveled before his eyes thanks to a nine-run Arizona fourth inning. It would be in this hurler’s best interest to take the L, rather than have this negative light backfire on a franchise that deserves more criticism as a whole.