MILWAUKEE -- Dustin May needed 23 pitches to navigate his first inning in a Brewers uniform. When he induced a swinging third strike from Pirates cleanup hitter Endy Rodríguez to end a scoreless frame, May flexed his arms and let out a yell.
It wasn’t exactly CC Sabathia’s famous flex in the 2008 regular season finale, but it was a good place to start.
Acquired from the Cardinals at Monday’s Trade Deadline, May walked the first batter he faced, committed a first-inning balk and hit a batter in the second. But he made up for what he lacked in efficiency by relying far more than usual on his cutter -- not to mention his defense -- and keeping his adrenaline under control for six effective innings of a 5-2 Brewers win on Thursday over the Pirates at American Family Field.
“It’s definitely higher in the first, especially a new team, trying to put a good face out there for yourself,” May said. “Stepping into a clubhouse where I’ve got a great group of guys behind me, it’s, ‘Go and do your thing and be comfortable.’”
That doesn’t mean he ignored the pressure to make a good first impression.
“I like to embrace it. I like to let it flow through my emotions throughout the game,” May said. “I like to suck it all in and let it out wherever it’s needed.”
The Brewers won their third straight game after dropping the series opener, getting a first-inning homer from Jackson Chourio and a go-ahead solo shot from catcher Gary Sánchez in the fifth, and high-leverage relief from DL Hall, Aaron Ashby and closer du jour Chad Patrick (fifth save) on a day that fellow newcomer Antonio Senzatela, setup man Abner Uribe and closer Trevor Megill were unavailable. It all contributed to a victory for May, who allowed two runs on three hits, with three walks and five strikeouts in a 97-pitch Milwaukee debut.
“It’s not as sharp as he can be, but he made the big pitches,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “It’s just beautiful to have that experience out there.”
That will play for the Brewers, who have the best starters’ ERA in the Majors at 3.36 but lack the sort of experience of May, even though he’s shy of his 29th birthday. That was one factor in Milwaukee’s aggressive approach to pursuing pitching at the Trade Deadline, an effort that failed to land Tarik Skubal from the Tigers but did net May and left-handed reliever JoJo Romero from the Cardinals, and right-hander Senzatela from the Rockies.
So far, so good. Romero is still recovering from an appendectomy and won’t pitch until later this month, but Senzatela had already pitched twice in relief for the Brewers before May took the mound on Thursday.
“He pitches six innings, two earned runs, knowing the bullpen is a little limited,” Sánchez said. “He did a tremendous job giving us that length, and then credit to the guys who came in on the back end of that game.”
Also credit Sánchez for coming through with the bat. After May surrendered two runs in a fourth inning that included Brandon Lowe’s solo home run, Sánchez promptly reclaimed the lead in the fifth with his first home run since June 28. It left him two homers shy of 200 for his career.
Sánchez doesn’t get many chances these days, with William Contreras behind the plate. Thursday’s at-bats were Sánchez’s first in eight days.
“It’s not always the easiest, but there in the cages, I was able to get a lot of work in, talk to the coaches, work on my timing,” Sánchez said. “Today, it paid off for me.”
It was also in the batting cage that Sánchez prepared to be the first Brewers catcher to work with May. The Brewers dialed up a virtual version of May in their Traject machine so Sanchez could see a close approximation of his stuff.
He wasn’t perfect. But the real, live version of May still put a good foot forward.
“The walks were kind of brutal. I’m not a fan of that,” May said. “But being able to go out and grind through it and get through six was cool.”