Almost nothing went right for the Los Angeles Dodgers in their 7-1 loss against the San Diego Padres last Friday, which was the result of a poor start from Dustin May and offensive struggles against Yu Darvish all night.
May did manage to complete five innings on 87 pitches, but he walked five batters and gave up four hits, which led to the right-hander allowing six runs, all earned.
Although the results didn’t offer many positives, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes May’s stuff still looked good and he just needs to make some corrections by using the outing as a learning experience.
“It was about the command,” Roberts said. “Certainly, with Dustin, the stuff is there. It’s velocity and everything is hard, but if you’re not commanding it, then guys can time velocity. There were some good breaking balls in there, but there were a lot of misfires with a lot of his pitches.
“It’s a good lesson. He’s going to see these guys again, I think his next turn. When you’re facing good hitters up and down the lineup, you’ve got to sequence well and command the baseball.”
Another reason for optimism is it was only May’s third start since returning from Tommy John surgery and these games tend to happen for pitchers early on in their return from the operation. But most importantly, May said he was still feeling healthy after the start.
“To expect him to be lights-out every time he takes the mound, I think is unfair,” Roberts said. “I think with Tommy John, the main thing is he continues to build up, stays strong, and the command should start to come.”
The right-hander has now thrown 16 innings this season, posting a 4.50 ERA with 18 strikeouts, eight walks and a 1.13 WHIP.
Dustin May looking to move on from rough outing
After the outing, May was frustrated by his inability to throw strikes and added he was just “bad all around.”
But despite his rough start, May is ready to put the game behind him. “Keep moving forward,” he said. “There’s nothing else you can do.”
May’s first opportunity to accomplish as much now comes in a second consecutive start against the Padres, but at Petco Park.
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