Houston Police Probing Death Threats Made Against Astros' Lance McCullers Jr.'s Family

After Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr.'s struggles in Saturday's loss to the Cincinnati Reds, he and his family were put through a harrowing experience.

According to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle, a spokesperson for the Houston Police Department said Monday that it is investigating threats made against McCullers and his family over social media on Saturday.

The spokesperson told Kawahara that the ongoing investigation is being handled by detectives with HPD’s Major Offenders Division and nobody has been taken into custody as of yet.

McCullers said the threats occurred following his start against the Reds on Saturday, which was just his second appearance of the 2025 season after being sidelined for the entire 2023 and 2024 campaigns with an arm injury. He failed to make it out of the first inning against Cincinnati, surrendering seven earned runs in Houston's 13-9 loss. While acknowledging his disappointing performance, he said some social media users took things too far.

"It’s been a tough evening. I understand people are very passionate and people love the Astros and love sports. But threatening to find my kids and murder them is a little bit tough to deal with," McCullers said after Saturday's game, per Kawahara.

The Astros reportedly notified HPD and MLB Security about the situation, and Kawahara noted that an MLB spokesperson said the league is aware of the threats and is in communication with the franchise regarding the matter.

The Astros will open a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals on Monday. McCullers' next scheduled start is expected to be against the Texas Rangers on Friday.