The Philadelphia Phillies jumped on Houston Astros’ Game 3 starter Lance McCullers Jr. early and often Tuesday night, hitting five home runs off the pitcher and tagging him for seven earned runs.
Steve Johnson, who goes by Leg Kick Nation on his social media platforms, suggested the problem with McCullers was that his leg kick was tipping pitches for Phillies batters. Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Rhys Hopkins, Brandon Marsh and Alec Bohm all joined in the home run parade.
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At one point, Harper was seen giving Bohm some advice in the on-deck circle – next thing you know, Bohm hit a home run. The third baseman was asked about the talk by FOX’s Ken Rosenthal and Bohm said the talk was "between us."
McCullers became the first pitcher in MLB history to allow five home runs in a single World Series game, but he denied he was tipping pitches.
"This has nothing to do with tipping," he said in the postgame press conference, via ESPN. "… Listen, I am who I am. I'm going to throw a lot of off-speed. Everyone knows that."
According to MLB’s Gameday, the home runs came off a knuckle curve, sinker, slider or changeup. He did not throw a single fastball during any of the sequences that led to home runs.
Astros pitcher coach Joshua Miller added, "We didn't identify anything specific today. It's something that we always monitor and look into."
The Phillies won the game 7-0 and took a 2-1 series led. Should the Astros make it to a Game 7, McCullers would be on the mound.
