Wednesday, August 06

Welcome back to the Dodgers Beat newsletter! 

LOS ANGELES -- It took only two outs for Dustin May to land in uncharted territory. 

May entered Monday night's game against the Mets one-third of an inning away from tying his single-season career high in innings. He surpassed that -- and then some -- with six innings of two-run ball. 

The previous high-water mark for May was 56 innings in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

To frame it another way: On the second day of June, two-thirds of an inning into a game, May had pitched deeper into a season in terms of workload than he had in parts of five previous years in the Majors. In fact, Monday marked the first time he started a big league game in June in his career (he had made at least two starts every other month of the MLB season).

The 27-year-old has lost some prime years to health issues, but he's been a relatively steady presence in the Dodgers' rotation this season. He holds a 4.09 ERA in 11 starts.

“I feel like I’m in an OK spot. There’s definitely some room to grow," May said. "But the biggest thing for me at this point, I’m healthy. I feel healthy. There’s no pain. My first time in June, so that’s exciting. Yeah, just gotta keep building off it.”

While manager Dave Roberts hasn't been surprised by what May has been able to give the Dodgers this season after a long journey back to big league action, it came as news to him that May was already at a career high in innings.

"I mean, he's worked hard to get back," Roberts said Monday. "He's been very efficient. I think that just the pitch mix has been really good. … He's strong, and so there's a lot more in there. And so not terribly surprised. But yeah, it's interesting, given his workload over the last couple of years. I just realized that this is the most he's thrown. But I feel he's in a good spot physically."

The heaviest regular-season workload of May's professional career came in 2019, when he made his big league debut. He pitched 106 2/3 innings in the Minors and 34 2/3 in the Majors. He eclipsed 130 innings in his two Minor League seasons before that year.

So the mileage on his arm is not entirely unprecedented, although the wear and tear at the big league level is a different beast. Not to mention that it's been years since May has been able to stay on the field for this long.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to actually, like, feel healthy and go pitch and compete," May said. "So just trying to remember what it felt like in 2019, when I was able to throw the full season and get all of the reps under my belt. It’s kind of hard to feel the same things, because it’s a different body. It’s a different way that I feel now than I did then."

May has also been one of the more durable arms on the Dodgers' pitching staff this year. He and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are the only holdovers from the Opening Day rotation, with Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki on the injured list. 

There's a lot of season left, especially for someone who hasn't thrown this many innings in several years. By drawing on his experience and having a good feel for how his body is responding now, May is taking it one step at a time.

“I feel good," May said. "I’ve been recovering very well. I’ve been doing my routine in-between starts, what I did before. It’s kind of the same as it’s always been. It’s just, I’m not in pain. That’s kind of really where I’m at.”

Phase 1 of All-Star voting is now open, and there are several Dodgers who should be in the mix for starting the game in Atlanta. Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith have been among the best at their respective positions in the National League, and Andy Pages could be a sleeper pick in his sophomore season. 

Click here to vote up to five times a day between now and June 26 at 9 a.m. PT. The top two vote-getters at each position will be the finalists for Phase 2, and the overall leader in each league will automatically get a spot on his team's starting lineup.

Dodgers top prospect Dalton Rushing's callup to the Majors came with the caveat that he would not get everyday playing time behind Smith. He has gladly embraced those conditions, but there have been some growing pains when it comes to his role. 

Rushing has gone 7-for-30 (.233) in nine games. Since recording a pair of knocks in each of his first two games, he's had three hits and zero walks along with 14 strikeouts. 

Given that Rushing is used to playing five days a week down in the Minors, it can be tough to adjust to being in the starting lineup only twice a week or so. The Dodgers believe that the experience of cutting his teeth with the Major League pitching staff is just as valuable to his development, but even so, Rushing will have to find a way to make the most of his limited at-bats.

"Just trying to take good at-bats, not trying to hit a three-run homer with nobody on base," Roberts said. "And just try to not add any more pressure or expectation. Because, to be frank, his role is to dominate defensively and to continue to get better defensively, and what he does offensively is additive. But certainly, as a hit-first guy in his career, it’s an adjustment. And I think the No. 1 thing is adjusting the mindset."

To subscribe to Dodgers Beat, visit this page and mark "Dodgers Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Dodgers or that they're checked as your favorite team.

View Online

© 2025 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Please review our Privacy Policy.

You (mlb-newsletters@mlb.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages or purchased a ticket from MLB. 

Please add info@marketing.mlbemail.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com, please unsubscribe or log in and manage your email subscriptions.

Postal Address: MLB.com, c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.