The Los Angeles Dodgers extended their winning streak to four games with Monday’s 10-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics at RingCentral Coliseum.
L.A. broke out the bats early and scored seven runs in the first three innings, giving Dustin May all the support he would need. The right-hander tied career highs with six innings pitched and eight strikeouts as he allowed just two hits in his regular season debut.
“It was fun. Being able to get out there and compete again for a game that counts was a lot of fun,” May said. “A lot of spots to build on, I felt really good. Looking forward to the next one.”
May needed 85 pitches to complete his six scoreless innings of work. His fastball touched 99 mph in the first inning and he was able to maintain that velocity for most of his outing. “We’ve been working up for pitch count to be strong throughout the whole outing,” May said.
“Just being able to stay hot between innings is the biggest thing. I felt comfortable the whole day, whether it was long or short (innings).”
Another pitch that proved effective for May was his cutter, which he felt he had excellent command of. “It was probably the best it’s felt from start of spring to now,” May noted.
“It’s probably the best I’ve thought it was. Command, the way it was spinning, the way it was moving, all around I thought it was a good pitch tonight.”
In terms of what he can improve on going forward, May hopes to find better success locating his breaking balls. “Just landing breaking balls so they can acknowledge them more in at-bats,” he said.
“Being able to put it in the zone and then being able to put one in the dirt when needed.”
Roberts impressed with May’s debut
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts additionally was pleased with how May fared in his regular season debut. “It was fun to watch. It really was. There’s a lot of motivating factors and opportunity to get him to be even better,” Roberts said.
“I thought in Spring Training he really worked on the breaking ball, striking it, shortening it. Today it was the fastball and hard. It was the fastball up, the cut fastball and the two-seamer. He just really commanded the top part of the zone, got left and right out, was efficient, and to see him get through six innings was really good to see.”
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, participate in our shows and giveaways, and more!
