Despite losing staff ace Walker Buehler for the remainder of the season, help has arrived for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the form of Dustin May, who made his first start in over a year on Saturday night against the Miami Marlins.
On April 14 of last season, May injured his elbow and was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery.
Almost 16 months later, May has made his return to the Dodgers rotation, a rotation that desperately needs another arm with both Buehler and Clayton Kershaw out.
May didn’t disappoint either, throwing five scoreless innings against the Fish, allowing just one hit, walking just two batters, and striking out nine on 71 pitches.
Dustin May absolutely shoved in his first big league start in almost 16 months:
‣ 5.0 IP
‣ 1 H
‣ 0 ER
‣ 9 K
‣ 2 BB
‣ 13 Whiffs
‣ Struck out half the batters he faced (50% K rate)
‣ Retired final 13 batters
‣ 71 pitches— Doug McKain (@DMAC_LA) August 21, 2022
Big Red Makes Statement In Return
This is what the Dodgers need right now.
They may not have added any pitching at the trade deadline, but with May back, there might be a reason for that.
As it turns out, it was a smart move for Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman to hold off on adding any pitching and to bet on May.
May gives the Dodgers a guy who can go deep into ballgames, keep his pitch count down, and give the Dodgers a chance to win.
May and his curly red locks are back in full force as he looks to help Los Angeles secure yet another postseason berth and take another shot at a World Series title.
He was throwing gas against the Marlins, which is a good sign for the Dodgers.
He looked just like his old self in his first start in over a year and is a viable option for the Dodgers to start a postseason game.
We’ll see how he responds to his first start back.
NEXT: The Dodgers Continue To Pace All Of MLB In August