Tyler Glasnow and Lance McCullers Jr. both exit with injuries in Dodgers blowout of Astros

Both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros saw their injury-prone starting pitchers deal with issues on Wednesday, It hurt the Astros more.

Both Tyler Glasnow and Lance McCullers Jr. were out of the game by the end of the third inning of a 12-2 Dodgers blowout, which was keyed by the first three-homer game of Andy Pages’ career.

Before the Dodgers offense broke out for a dozen runs, Glasnow exited the game while warming up for the second inning. The Dodgers later announced he left due to lower back pain.

Before leaving, Glasnow posted the 1,000 strikeout of his career, becoming the fastest player to reach that mark by innings pitched at only 793. He had been a standout for the team entering Wednesday, with a 2.56 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 38 2/3 innings across six starts.

McCullers encountered his issues in the second inning, when he appeared to have an issue with his finger. He remained in the game and ended up getting tagged for six earned runs, three of which scored on wild pitches.

You can see him looking at his fingers after the first run scored.

Pages provided the knockout blow in the third inning with a three-run homer to make it 6-1.

McCullers told reporters after the game that a portion of the fingernail on his right index finger “popped off” during the third inning and was unsure if he would be able to make his next start, per The Athletic’s Chandler Rome.

Glasnow, meanwhile, said his back issue is something that has cropped up every year since his growth spurt in high school, but he will still undergo an MRI according to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts reportedly said an injured list stint was unlikely for the right-hander.

Injuries are obviously nothing new for Glasnow or McCullers. Both pitchers have a decade of experience in MLB, and only one season of at least 140 innings pitched between them (McCullers’ 162 1/3 in 2021).

It’s been four years since McCullers was last performing like an above-average starting pitcher, while Glasnow has been excellent when on the mound for the Dodgers, with a 3.25 ERA in three seasons with the club.

In this case, both pitchers appear to have encountered injuries more inconvenient than serious. The Astros in particular can’t afford any more injuries though, with Hunter Brown, Tatsuya Imai, Cristian Javier, Josh Hader, Jeremy Peña and many more already on the injured list. Carlos Correa was also ruled out for the rest of the season earlier Wednesday.

The Dodgers win improved their record to 23-14, keeping them atop the NL West, while the Astros remain in fourth place in the AL West with a 15-23 record.