The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their homestand on Monday with a 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies, which saw Dustin May turn in another impressive performance.
The right-hander allowed just one run on three hits over six innings of work and recorded a season-high seven strikeouts without walking a batter.
May improved to 1-0 with a minuscule 1.06 ERA and 0.77 WHIP in three starts this season. “I do,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said when asked if he has seen May’s confidence grow on the mound.
“With Dustin, there’s always been a confidence in himself. But I think the efficiency of the pitches, the flooding the strike zone, ability to strike the secondary pitches, get the swing and miss when he needs it, I think the confidence is really building and is sustainable.
“I think it’s real. He’s understanding how to get Major League hitters out. I thought this was a good test for him in the sense that there were a lot of left-handed hitters in the lineup. He really handled them really, really well. It’s certainly another stepping stone for him.”
May showed flashes of his talent and potential before undergoing a flexor tendon and Tommy John revision surgery in 2023, but Roberts believes the 27-year-old is even more polished now.
“I think so,” Roberts began. “He’s certainly been through a lot the last couple years, or you could even say the last four years. There’s been a lot of maturity. I think he understands more is not always more, as far as effort or trying to bully hitters.
“He knows how to pitch and make pitches. I just think he also manages his emotions a lot better than he did as a young pitcher. He’s gotten a lot better.”
May has succeeded behind improved command of his breaking pitches despite seeing a small dip in his fastball velocity. “I think it’s a natural byproduct,” Roberts explained.
“There’s still 97 (mph) in there. But I think he’s understanding that if you execute a pitch, you kind of keep hitters off balance and there’s a way to chew up outs, go deeper in games, and then when you need to reach back for more, it’s in there.
“I did see a few overthrows in there tonight. He doesn’t necessarily need that, but there’s velocity still in there.”
Dustin May thrilled with early success
May noted that his early success has provided a major boost to his confidence.
“It’s huge. Just to be able to go out and pitch, even if it wasn’t good, would be huge for me,” he said. “Because I haven’t been able to do it in so long and it almost got taken away. Just being able to go out and contribute and actually be kind of decent is huge.”
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