May's hot start on the hill a boon for Dodgers

PHOENIX -- Coming into the season, the Dodgers had some questions to answer in the starting rotation behind ace Julio Urías and likely future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw.

Tony Gonsolin was a first-time All-Star last season, but has become injury prone over the last few seasons. Noah Syndergaard has a track record of being effective, but is still trying to find his old dominance. The rotation was going to be a strength, but it was expected to be the starting staff with the most questions in recent memory.

Through two starts, however, Dustin May has answered just about all of those questions. May, the Dodgers’ third-round pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, continued his strong start to the season, allowing one run over six dominant innings in a 5-2 series-opening win over the D-backs on Thursday at Chase Field.

"I think with Dustin, it’s the quality of strikes,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “This is as clean and consistent of a throwing delivery that he’s had, which is allowing for the ball to move late in the hitting zone. So with that, he’s going to be efficient, because guys are gonna want to swing the bat early against him. I think for us, just being able to allow him to go deep in games like he has been, that’s a tell for his success."

It was the D-backs’ home opener, and a sold-out crowd was ready to welcome the home team with plenty of cheers. But it was the group of Dodgers fans that made the most noise, largely thanks to May’s performance.

The Dodgers jumped out to a quick lead following Chris Taylor’s RBI single in the second inning. In the third, the Dodgers added two more on an error and a J.D. Martinez RBI double. They tacked on a pair of runs later in the game, including a Freddie Freeman solo homer, his first of the season and the Dodgers’ 14th in seven games to start the campaign (second only to the Giants’ 15).

That was more than enough for May to settle in and pick up his second win over the D-backs in as many starts. May struck out the first two batters he faced and retired the first five before Jake McCarthy's two-out single in the second inning. Outside of an Alek Thomas walk in the third, that’s about all the D-backs’ offense was able to put together against May until the sixth, when Josh Rojas hit an RBI double.

Rojas’ double came on May’s cutter, the first hit against May while using the pitch this season. Entering the night, the cutter had been utilized by May 11 times, recording two strikeouts and zero base hits. It’s a pitch that has already been more effective for May than it was last season, allowing him to pair it with his sinker and four-seamer, pitches that routinely touch triple digits.

“I’m going to go out and do what I’m going to do,” May said. “It’s going to be good or it’s gonna be bad. It has nothing to do with what people think about me. I’m just gonna do what I do.”

Before May suffered a torn UCL in May 2021, the right-hander looked poised to live up to the enormous hype that surrounded him as the top pitching prospect in the Majors. But after missing over 16 months rehabbing the injury, it was unclear just how effective May could be this season.

In his first two starts, May has allowed one run and punched out nine over 13 innings of work. He’ll have to continue it against some tougher lineups in the league, but May’s strong start gives the Dodgers more confidence in what they can accomplish this season.

Through seven games this season, the Dodgers’ starting staff has a 1.76 ERA, the lowest in the National League.

"Electric stuff,” Freeman said of May. “For him to come out and do that in the first two starts, it’s just a huge confidence boost for him, and obviously huge for us. I faced him pre-Tommy John. It’s not fun. You’ve got 100 mph sinkers and 95 mph cutters and when he can throw strikes like he is right now, that’s huge."