The Los Angeles Dodgers had an injury scare during their series against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field as Dustin May was hit by a comebacker in the left foot in the first inning of his start on Thursday, forcing him to come out of the game after just one frame.
After an X-ray was inconclusive, May underwent additional testing on his foot, with a CT scan coming back negative. May is considered day-to-day with a contusion and already reported improvement Saturday.
“Today it feels much better,” he said. “I came in [Friday], got some treatment and it feels a lot better. After I got treatment yesterday and walked around on it a little bit, it feels a lot better and swelling went down a lot.”
The Dodgers’ starting rotation is in a state of flux right now as not only is May injured, but Walker Buehler is on the 10-day injured list for a second time because of a blister on his right index finger.
Although time remaining is running short, May is confident he will pitch during the regular season. “I definitely think I can,” he said.” I’ll talk with Prior and Doc and kind of see the thoughts and their ideas on that.”
May has already begun throwing on flat ground, which is a good sign just two days after suffering the injury. He wore a boot when he left the stadium on Thursday but revealed he already doesn’t need it anymore.
“They put me in one in Arizona just as a precautionary thing. Yesterday, after we got the results back, they said I could keep wearing it if I needed to,” May explained. “There wasn’t a fracture or anything, so I felt like I strong enough to just walk on it regular. That’s what I’m doing right now.”
This is the second time May has gotten hit with a comebacker at Chase Field as he was struck in the head with a line drive last September. Luckily, he was able to avoid serious injury both times.
“I’ve talked with a lot of people and I just keep going back to I’m a ball magnet in Arizona on that field,” May joked. “It’s weird, I don’t know. I haven’t had a clean inning there. It was weird, for sure.”
He downplayed any lingering concern or feeling as though changes have to be made. “They’re freak accidents. It’s baseball,” May said.
“It’s not like people are aiming to hit it at me. It’s just the way the cookie crumbled in Arizona for my starts. I’ve got to go out and do the same thing and hope for better results.”
Roberts to be cautious when bringing May back
Roberts is the one that has to monitor all of the Dodgers’ injured players while also trying to piece a rotation together until May and Buehler are healthy.
With May in particular though, Roberts is going to ensure he is 100% before taking the mound. “That’s the thing, is one part of it is per his tolerance and how he feels,” Roberts said. “But also you don’t want to compromise the delivery, which would obviously put the arm at risk in some capacity.
“Making sure he feels he can repeat his delivery and not compensate, that’s the thing. That’s why it’s day-to-day and we just don’t know. Each day he’s playing catch on flat ground. We’ll get a little better idea and then potentially see how he is going down the slope.”
May then threw a light bullpen session Sunday and also complete PFP drills, and now is likely to start Wednesday against the San Diego Padres.
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