How did Lance McCullers tip his pitches? Baseball fans may have figured it out (Video)
By Rylie Smith
The Philadelphia Phillies have had a great time in Game 3 while Lance McCullers hasn’t, and MLB fans may have figured out his downfall.
The Philadelphia Phillies are starting their home World Series run well with several runs over the Houston Astros, and fans are accusing Lance McCullers of tipping his pitches.
In a frame-by-frame analysis shared by Jomboy Media, McCullers kicked his leg up before his pitches. To internet sleuths, this is possibly him tipping his pitches.
He certainly underperformed, but based on his stats, he seemed unpredictable coming into Game 3. In his start of the ALDS game against the Seattle Mariners, he gave up no runs and produced a batting average against of .100 and WHIP of 0.67.
In the ALCS game against the New York Yankees, he had a completely different performance. He crumbled under pressure, giving up four runs and producing an ERA of 2.45, BAA of .233 and WHIP of 1.18.
Game 3 could’ve gone either extremely well or horribly, and the latter happened. He completely choked under the pressure of the World Series and gave up seven runs. He produced an ERA of 5.87, BAA of .258 and WHIP of 1.30.
Whether or not he did tip his pitches, the Phillies still may have had similar success.
Phillies hot offense only made hotter by Lance McCullers Jr.’s pitch tipping
The Phillies have been on another level offensively this postseason. They completely crushed the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of the NLDS 9-1 with six runs in the third inning, so their ability to homer was clear from the beginning.
Their offense is lethal and it’s been known that the Astros would need stellar pitching to take it down. Justin Verlander crumbled under the pressure of Game 1 and the Phillies took advantage of that. Framber Valdez pitched flawlessly in Game 2, and the Phillies weren’t able to pull another win.
Now, McCullers folded and the Phillies used that to their advantage. McCullers may have tipped his pitches, which certainly wouldn’t have fared well for the Astros, but the Phillies probably would have done well regardless given their track record this postseason.