X-rays negative, but May feels the pain after liner off ankle prompts 1st-inning exit

ATLANTA –- Starter Dustin May exited the Cardinals' 11-5 win over the Braves in the first inning with a right ankle contusion after being struck by a line drive.

“We got the X-rays back and nothing was wrong, so that's positive,” May said postgame. “It just hurts at the moment.”

With the bases loaded, Dominic Smith hit a one-out, three-run double on May's 30th pitch of the inning -- after the ball deflected off May's ankle before rolling into the outfield and right-field foul territory -- giving the Braves a 4-3 lead.

Making his first start since missing his previous turn with back tightness, May entered the bottom of the first with a 3-0 lead after Jordan Walker's three-run home run. Drake Baldwin opened with a line-drive single before Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson drew back-to-back walks to load the bases.

May struck out Michael Harris II looking, then allowed an RBI single to Mauricio Dubón before Smith's double.

After the deflection, May remained on his knees for several minutes as manager Oliver Marmol and the Cardinals' training staff checked on him.

He slowly went through his pitching mechanics and hopped on his right leg before throwing a few warmup pitches. After the game, May said it wasn't especially painful when he initially tried to put weight on it because his foot had gone numb.

“When I got into the dugout, kind of sat down, the numbness kind of went away, and the pain took over, and that's kind of just been throbbing,” May said.

He remained in the game and threw four more pitches, facing three batters. He allowed a single to Austin Riley, a sacrifice fly to Mike Yastrzemski and another single to Jim Jarvis. May finished with five runs allowed on five hits and two walks, raising his ERA to 4.80.

Marmol then emerged from the dugout and called on left-hander Justin Bruihl, who retired Baldwin on a groundout to end the inning.

“[May] wanted to keep going, but it was more of a matter of is he going to be able to go back out,” Marmol said. “Once you sit, that thing's going to tighten up, and there's no chance he was going back out there, so might as well get the left-on-left matchups for that part of the lineup if that's going to be the case, so we decided to do it. Thankfully, Bruihl gets the ground ball, and then we're able to set it up the rest of the game.”

The last time the right-hander took the mound was June 21, when May lasted just two innings while allowing six runs against the Royals. That outing came on the heels of his one-hit performance against the Padres on June 15, which built on a strong stretch in which he posted a 2.54 ERA over 12 starts.

“I would have liked to [stay], knowing where I was at ... how my last one went,” May said. “But I understand the decision.”

The bullpen, which used six relievers, shut out the Braves the rest of the way while allowing just three hits.

“That's two starts in a row for me that they pick me up like that, not where I would like to put them,” May said. “It's not very ideal with this long series before the break, just gonna circle back and get after the next one.”