Heartbreak, dominance, back to heartbreak: May's roller-coaster history in Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE -- The last time Dustin May stepped on the mound at American Family Field, his promising trajectory as a top prospect in the Dodgers’ organization was derailed on one pitch.

Visibly in pain after delivering a fastball in this park back in 2021, May was forced to exit and eventually underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. He pitched just 78 total innings in the three years that followed before returning full-time in '25, where he was traded to Boston before signing with St. Louis over the offseason.

That brings us to Wednesday’s finale in Milwaukee, where May returned to the stadium that changed his baseball career for the first time since the injury.

His revenge was to make this place the best memory of his life.

May was oh so close to achieving just that, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning in the Cardinals’ 2-1 loss in one of, if not the, most dominant starts in the 28-year-old’s professional career.

“That was definitely on my mind as I was warming up,” May said of the injury after becoming only the second Cardinals starter to complete seven innings this season. “Funny as it is, I was praying like, ‘Let’s please not have this happen again.’ Because it had been so long since I have been here, but yeah, it was good to go out and get a good one.”

May was simply brilliant, setting down 15 straight batters after catcher’s interference allowed Sal Frelick to reach base in the third inning. The only other Brewer to stand on first base before the eighth was when May hit Jake Bauers on the right foot in the second inning with a breaking ball.

It was dominant stuff, but Garrett Mitchell got a hold of a cutter in the middle of the plate to lead off the eighth and smoked it to left-center field to the tune of a 107.9 mph exit velocity, sailing just above the outstretched glove of left fielder Bryan Torres for Milwaukee's first hit. Luis Rengifo followed with a perfectly placed bunt towards the third-base line, putting runners on first and third with none out to chase May from the game.

“It’s hard to not at least be a thought, but you try and push it out as much as possible,” May said of the no-hitter. “At that point, you’re just trying to win a ballgame. It’s a 1-0 game, trying to go out and execute pitches outside of that.”

JoJo Romero entered the jam and almost got out of the frame, but Christian Yelich tied the game with a two-out single before Masyn Winn, who made an incredible sliding play to keep the no-hitter alive at the end of the fifth inning, fumbled a ground ball from Jackson Chourio, allowing the go-ahead run to come home.

May was close, but the Cardinals’ 10th no-hitter in franchise history will have to wait. The club’s most recent no-no was from 21-year-old rookie Bud Smith on Sept. 3, 2001, when he went the distance against the Padres in the only complete game of his career.

“[May] was electric. Gave us the best chance he could to win,” Winn said. “That was definitely fun to watch. That’s the best I’ve seen him throw.”

One of the most promising developments was May’s consistent velocity, which was still touching 97.1 mph in the seventh inning. That was one of May’s calling cards when he first appeared with the Dodgers, before his UCL repair predated an eventual right flexor tendon procedure and an emergency torn esophagus surgery that kept the righty out of baseball for the 2024 season.

It’s been a long road back, but May is starting to find his groove. He has gone at least six innings and allowed three or fewer runs in seven of those past nine outings. It’s taken a bit to get back to the player he was before a string of injuries delayed his career, even if May doesn’t believe he’s fully returned to form yet.

“I would like to say that I’m relatively close to the same pitcher I was, but I’m not. My stuff was better then,” May said. “It’s kind of how it was, but I feel good to be where I’m at and lucky to be here. Looking forward to the next one.”

May did all he could to avoid a sweep at the hands of the first-place Brewers, but the Cardinals, who scored only two runs in the three-game set, still remain in contention in a tight NL Central. After all May has been through, he’ll take Wednesday’s outing.

“Sucks I couldn’t finish the job, getting through that eighth inning there, but it was definitely fun,” May said.