For Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Dustin May, outing could not have gotten off to a worse start Wednesday night, as it lasted just one pitch.
In the bottom of the first inning of the Brewers’ 8-1 win over the New York Mets at Citi Field, May was smoked by a 106 mph line drive. The 28-year-old threw a 96 mph fastball to Mets center fielder A.J. Ewing, and the ball came straight back at him, only harder.
The ball was hit so hard that when it ricocheted off May, who did his best to turn away from the blazing liner, it went straight to third baseman David Hamilton, who then fired to first base to retire Ewing.
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However, the out came at a great cost to May. The right-hander was in clear discomfort, as he bent over and grabbed the area where he was hit as the trainers ran out to check on him. He tried to compose himself with deep breaths and eventually threw a few warm-up pitches after talking with the training staff and manager Pat Murphy, but May didn’t feel quite right.
“When I threw it, it felt fine,” May said. “But sitting there for a couple seconds after — threw the next one and it didn’t feel right. They were more on the cautious side of, better to be safe now and protect you for later.”
He was removed from the game with a bruised right scapula but hopes to make his next start.
“I think it all just depends on how I feel (Thursday),” May said. “Right now, with motions and movements and stuff, feel better now that I know nothing is structurally wrong.”
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With May out of the game after just one out, Murphy was forced to turn to the bullpen for the remaining 26 outs. He joked that it was all part of the plan.
“We planned just using May as an opener,” Murphy said with a grin. “Parts of six (innings for Gasser) — great, really great. Made big pitches at big times.”
Robert Gasser replaced May and stepped up in a big way, throwing 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball. Grant Anderson and Bryse Wilson followed him out of the bullpen, and those two yielded just three hits over 3 1/3 shutout innings.
For Gasser, it was the first relief appearance of his major league career.
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“Definitely something I haven’t had to experience before,” Gasser said. “I didn’t even sit down out there.”
The Brewers acquired May from the St. Louis Cardinals at the trade deadline, and he is expected to play a big role for them down the stretch. In 25 starts this season, May has a 6-8 record with a 4.56 ERA in 124 1/3 innings.
The Brewers (82-51) will look to take the rubber match of their three-game series against the Mets (60-73) on Thursday at 7:10 p.m. ET.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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