Astros McCullers to miss 2019 following Tommy John surgery

CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) — Houston Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. will miss all of next season following Tommy John surgery.

Houston announced McCullers had the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow repaired Tuesday.

The 25-year-old was 10-6 with a 3.86 ERA in 22 starts and three relief appearances this year, striking out 142 in 128 1/3 innings. He was 10-4 before the All-Star break, then went on the disabled list from Aug. 5 to Sept. 24 because of elbow discomfort.

McCullers returned for the final week of the regular season and had three scoreless relief appearances, then had a 1.80 ERA in five relief outings during the playoffs.

He is 29-22 with a 3.67 ERA in 80 starts and three relief appearances over four seasons and was an AL All-Star in 2017.

Kyrie Irving fined $25K for throwing ball into stands

NEW YORK (AP) — Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving has been fined $25,000 by the NBA for throwing a basketball into the stands after a game.

The fine was handed down Tuesday by league discipline executive Kiki VanDeWeghe.

The incident occurred at the end of the Celtics’ 115-107 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.

Irving was mad that Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray took a 3-point-shot with the clock winding down when Denver already had put away the game. Murray, who already had scored 48 points, said he was trying to reach 50.