MIAMI -- Dustin May attacked the strike zone and got ahead in counts, allowing his arsenal to play at its best in the Cardinals' 5-3 win over the Marlins at loanDepot park on Tuesday.
The right-hander consistently set the tone early, either landing a first-pitch strike or inducing a foul on the opening offering in each of his five strikeouts. His only deep count came against Connor Norby, but even then May finished the at-bat blowing a 96.8 mph four-seamer past him on a full count.
The 28-year-old May turned in a solid outing, going 5 ⅓ innings on 97 pitches, giving up only one run -- a leadoff homer to Jakob Marsee in the bottom of the first. May wrapped up the start with a 5.84 ERA.
“He’s a different animal. He really is,” manager Oliver Marmol said pregame. “His stuff plays better. If you look at his first couple outings, he fell behind guys. He had trouble establishing some of that early on and it's easier to eliminate certain pitches and find more barrels. So when he’s ahead his stuff just plays at a higher degree. He’s done a much better job of that.”
May backed that up on Tuesday and has now pitched into at least the sixth inning in three consecutive outings.