May is out for rest of regular season
Right-hander is latest pitcher to land on injured list, leaving playoff status unclear.
The Dodgers’ pitching staff is facing another major uncertainty as October nears.
Before Saturday’s 6-2 win against the St. Louis Cardinals, right-hander Dustin May was put on the 15-day injured list because of lower back tightness, a move that will prevent him from pitching in the regular season again and brings his postseason availability into question.
According to a person with knowledge of the situation who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, May has a muscle strain in his back.
Manager Dave Roberts clarified the issue is on May’s left side.
Though May won’t be eligible to return before the team’s regular-season finale Oct. 5, the Dodgers’ hope is that the injury will clear up in the next couple of weeks and allow him to be active for the team’s National League Division Series, which begins Oct. 11.
“If you’re looking at the build-up to get him back, IL made sense,” Roberts said. “He should be back the week after the season, throwing and pitching again. We’re expecting him to be back for the DS.”
Still, the Dodgers already were hoping for some injury luck with other important arms. Instead, Saturday’s surprise news only added to their growing list of pitching questions.
Even though May had been inconsistent since returning from Tommy John surgery last month, posting a 4.50 earned-run average in six starts and giving up five runs over four innings in his most recent outing Wednesday, the hard-throwing 25year-old still was expected to play a major role in the team’s playoff pitching plans, probably as a starter given he still is coming off reconstructive elbow surgery.
Now, it’s unclear whether May will be able to contribute in the playoffs, putting him in the same position as fellow starter Tony Gonsolin
and right-handed reliever Blake Treinen.
“Not ideal, not what we’re planning on,” Roberts said. “I thought we’d managed him well, and obviously with Dustin coming off Tommy John, the arm was the thing that we were very mindful of. So to have this setback, it’s where we’re at. We got to ... deal with it and move on.”
A third-round draft pick who played a key role on the Dodgers’ 2020 World Series team, May was beginning to blossom as a starter early last year when his season was cut short by a torn ulnar collateral ligament.
Then after returning in late August, May battled inconsistency in his starts.
He had two good outings against the Miami Marlins, then two shakier ones against the San Diego Padres. On Sept. 16, he flashed dominance during five nohit innings in San Francisco against the Giants. But then he regressed again against the Arizona Diamondbacks last week, in what was his shortest start.
It was after that game that Roberts said he first heard about May’s back problem. The issue didn’t require an MRI or any other scans, according to Roberts, and the team’s plan is to have May begin throwing again in a few days.
As far as his potential postseason role: “That’s sort of contingent on how long he’s gonna be down, but I think it’s fair to say it’s shortened it, as far as the length that he can give us,” Roberts said.
“But if he’s healthy, then it’s still a weapon.”
Bullpen shines
It was a straightforward game conducted with a straightforward pitching plan Saturday.
Leading after six strong innings from Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers looked just fine without a designated closer, getting three scoreless innings from their bullpen to beat the Cardinals at Dodger Stadium.
In their first game protecting a lead since demoting Craig Kimbrel from the closer role, the Dodgers trotted out the kind of bullpen plan that could be repeated in October.
Chris Martin, a key trade deadline pickup, retired the side in order in the seventh.
Top setup man Evan Phillips took care of the heart of the Cardinals order in the eighth.
Then neutral-split righthander Tommy Kahnle was summoned for the ninth, in what wasn’t technically a save situation but which represented the type of final-inning leverage spot that several pitchers could cycle through down the stretch this season.
“To kind of find the right lane for guys, I thought, was good and it played out great,” Roberts said. “They all pitched well.”
At the plate, the Dodgers got home runs from Will Smith, Trayce Thompson and Miguel Vargas — the latter’s first as a big leaguer.
“I’m just trying to enjoy the moment,” said Vargas, who was in the lineup only because Freddie Freeman was scratched because of an illness (Roberts said he expected Freeman back as soon as Sunday).
Kershaw cruised from there, lowering his ERA to 2.42 on the season, and 1.80 in five starts since returning from a back injury at the start of this month.
“For him to take that three-week little blow and get him back and throw the baseball the way he has since coming back, much needed,” Roberts said. “It’s really good to see.”