Like in 2021, Dustin May is expected to be a key member of the Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation. But this year is different for the right-hander in that he’s entering his first full season since undergoing Tommy John surgery.
May voiced optimism about his health and progression with rounding back into form throughout Spring Training, and his first start of the regular season further validated that confidence. He held the Diamondbacks to just three hits over seven scoreless innings.
“I would say very good,” answered May when asked to describe his outing. “Getting ahead of a lot of guys, very quick outs. Defense played very well behind me. It was a very well-played game.”
May added it was “encouraging” in terms of his health and, “I feel like we’re in a good spot. Just got to keep going.”
Being efficient throughout the night delayed Dodgers manager Dave Roberts in bringing the hook and allowed May to pitch into the seventh inning for the first time in his career.
“My pitch count was pretty low, so going into the dugout, I was wanting to stay in,” May said of his thought process after completing six innings.
“If he would’ve come over, I would’ve tried to barter with him to go back out. But he didn’t and he let me go back out, so that was a good confidence booster.”
May admitted to initially being concerned Roberts would look to remove him from the game. “But then he didn’t, and I was super excited he trusted me to go back out and get three more outs,” May said.
Roberts credited the 25-year-old for his “really good” performance and earning the opportunity to pitch deep into the game.
“Dustin is a guy that floods strike zone, puts the ball in play, and I just didn’t think these guys were getting good swings off him for the most part,” Roberts said. “And so I just thought versus right, versus left, it just didn’t make any sense to go to anybody at that point in time.”
Dustin May close to pre-Tommy John form
With consistent command of his pitches and fastball velocity nearing triple digits, there are not any overt signs of May only being seven starts removed from Tommy John surgery.
“I feel pretty close,” he said. “I don’t know what the difference would be between before and right now. Everything’s feeling pretty in line, so just got to keep going.”
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