You have to hand it to “Sports Illustrated” with its curveball cover

The latest issue of Sports Illustrated is all about curveballs, so naturally, our home team has a hand in it.

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Make that Lance McCullers’s hand, which made the cover, featuring his telltale curveball grip.

The story, “Why the Curveball Is Taking Over the Game,” also highlights the Astros and McCullers.

In it, Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci makes the point that last year saw a rise in curveballs, with 9,000 more thrown than the year before. The Astros’ general manager Jeff Luhnow has built a starting rotation full of curveball specialists like McCullers, Charlie Morton, Mike Fiers and Collin McHugh.

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“I feel it come off my hand and I know it’s most likely going to result in a punch-out,” McCullers says in the story. “A hitter knows off the hands when the ball hits his sweet spot and it’s going to be a homer. I have that feeling when it comes out of my hand. Like, ‘This is a really quality pitch.'”