ST. LOUIS -- Dustin May has been one of the Cardinals’ most compelling storylines this season.
Signed to a one-year deal on Dec. 13, 2025, the former Dodgers top prospect spent the early part of the 2026 season proving that injuries that derailed chunks of his career were firmly behind him.
The 28-year-old answered that question by taking the mound for his 21st start of the season on Wednesday in the Cardinals' 3-2 walk-off win over the Cubs at Busch Stadium.
At 109 innings, May is primed to top his personal best of 132 1/3 frames he set last season between the Dodgers and Red Sox.
Now, the question remains: Will Wednesday be May’s last start as a Cardinal?
With the Trade Deadline looming on Monday at 5 p.m. CT -- which would likely be May’s next start -- the Cardinals seem destined to be sellers, mired in a 7-14 funk since July 6. May figures to be highly coveted in a pitching-starved market.
“It's on my mind, but it's at the very back,” May said. “I mean, I know I have a job to do. I'm very diligent in being prepared for each and every outing, whether it goes good or goes bad. I know I put the right amount of effort and work into it to hopefully have a good result. So I did the same thing this week as I would have done any week. There's no difference, and [I] just went out and tried to attack.”
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May threw five scoreless innings, struck out three, walked two and 40 of his 70 pitches were strikes against Chicago.
“It was a blast to go out there and have a good one,” May said. “Don't know what the next week's going to hold, but it's a great clubhouse, and I've really enjoyed my time.”
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol appreciates the leadership May has provided.
“He's done a really nice job, and he did it again tonight,” Marmol said. “He gave us five strong, one hit, and just dominated. And you can tell by the players' reactions that when he's out there, man, you want to fight for him. He's done that all year.”
Alex Bregman’s ground-rule double, which dipped under the glove of a diving Nathan Church in center field in the fourth inning, was the lone hit May allowed.
“Execution wasn't as great tonight,” May said. “My stuff felt good, but I fell behind in a lot of counts and had to battle my way back. But got a lot of weak-contact outs, so that was good.”
May received numerous hugs from his teammates in the dugout after he was lifted.
“I think the players have talked through that quite a bit this year, as far as how together that clubhouse is. And whether it's someone coming in from the outside, first-year guy or not, they've embraced everybody, and they've come together really well as a group as they go through the ups and downs of the year,” Marmol said. “So that's just an example of it.”
Cubs starter Matthew Boyd silenced the Cardinals’ bats, tossing seven scoreless innings, leaving May unable to secure the win. The Cardinals went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position against Boyd, including leaving the bases loaded in the sixth inning.
The Cubs finally broke through in the 10th. Pete Crow-Armstrong’s two-run homer off Luis Gastelum broke the scoreless tie. PCA’s Statcast-projected 424-foot blast was just the Cubs' second hit of the night.
St. Louis’ bats finally woke up in the bottom of the frame. After loading the bases, Jordan Walker scored Church on a fielder’s choice, and Iván Herrera’s walk-off two-run double snapped the Cardinals’ three-game losing streak.
Herrera was happy to pull out a win for May.
“Just an amazing teammate,” Herrera said. “We love him over here, and we are going to wish him the best if he gets traded. If not, we would love him to have him here. The guy’s nasty, throwing cheese out there.”