The Los Angeles Dodgers struggled to get the bats going in Monday’s 2-1 loss to the San Diego Padres, but Dustin May still put forth a second consecutive quality start.
The right-hander allowed just two runs on five hits, striking out two and walking two in six innings of work. “I thought it was pretty solid,” May said of his outing.
“I was commanding the breaking ball pretty well when I wanted to, throughout I thought I threw pretty well. They hit the mistakes that I threw, that’s about it. I thought it was a pretty good outing overall. They just hit the mistakes when I threw them.”
The Dodgers jumped out to an early 1-0 lead behind Cody Bellinger’s RBI single in the bottom of the first. They scored before the Padres could record a single out, but went completely quiet from there on.
The club squandered multiple opportunities with runners in scoring position, paving the way for the Padres’ comeback. Austin Hedges eventually evened up the score with a solo home run in the fifth.
Later in the sixth, Eric Hosmer gave San Diego their first lead of the game with a two-out RBI single. “I was trying to go in again, kind of like the earlier pitches in the AB; trying to get a swing over the cutter,” May explained. “I left it more middle and he got his hands extended to punch it over the infield.”
May’s command began to wane in the sixth, as he walked Trent Grisham and Tommy Pham before giving up the go-ahead hit to Hosmer. “I was just telling myself for the Hosmer AB that I needed to get it in and if I didn’t walk the two guys then it might have been a different outcome,” May said.
“I’ve got to get ahead with those guys. I can’t fall behind the same way and walk both of them. I’ve got to attack, get ahead and stay in the zone.”
Despite being tabbed with his first loss of the season, May’s confidence level remains high knowing that he will take the ball every five days. “It’s not really that I’ve learned, it’s kind of getting more to the routine-wise of knowing I’m going to get another start, just expecting the ball and knowing whenever I get the ball that I’m going to go out and do my thing,” he said.
“It’s just overall comfortability of being able to have that ball every five days has been really good. It takes some of the stress off. Instead of trying to press and get outs, I can go out and compete and do my thing. I have a lot of energy on the mound and and I feel like whenever I can let that flow is when I’m at my best.”
May changed approach in second straight start against Padres
For May, Monday’s outing marked his second straight start against the Padres, having previously faced them at Petco Park less than a week ago. “They have a feel for you, you have a feel for them,” he said.
“I’m assuming they knew my game plan going in, and it was just get ahead early so you could see the swings early on my heater. They put it play better than my last outing, but I thought I faced them pretty well for the second time. I thought the game plan was switched up enough to where it kept them off balance.”
May set a career high with eight strikeouts against the Padres in San Diego.
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