Dustin May has had an interesting career thus far at 23 years old, he’s appeared on the mound in the postseason and is already a World Series champion.
The confidence that manager Dave Roberts has displayed to him and the public, we all understand why he is the fifth starter named in the rotation. On Tuesday night, May was absolutely outstanding as he gave up one run in 5 1/3 inning aiding the Dodgers in a 6-4 victory over the Angels at Dodger Stadium.
May had four strikeouts on four hits in the win. He had been in competition for the fifth starter role with Tony Gonsolin and David Price throughout the Spring.
“It definitely wasn’t given to me, I felt like I went out everyday and did what I was supposed to do and it ended up working out for me,” May said. “I’m super excited and ready to get the season going.”
His goal is not only to keep that spot but continue to improve upon his pitching and while keeping his opponents at the plate off balance especially when he throws his fastball and curveball.
He’s made significant strides from his first Spring Training with the team until now, however May spoke specifically on where his improvement has been on the mound.
“To be able to land a breaking ball and incorporating some more four seams into, and getting a little more swing and miss helped a lot.”
Roberts has also noticed the work and improved by May over the course of the past two seasons.
“If you look at last year and his trek through the minor leagues, everything was hard: upper 90s, hard cutter, and didn’t really use the breaking ball or the changeup,” Roberts said. “Now the changeup, the curveball is part of his arsenal, he’s comfortable, confident.”
For the foreseeable future May will be pleading the fifth on the mound this season.
The Dodgers will begin their World Series title defense on Thursday against the Rockies in Colorado at 1:10PM PT.
