By JERRY BEACH Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Dustin May left his start against the New York Mets with a bruised right scapula after throwing one pitch Wednesday night.
May was hit in the upper back by A.J. Ewing’s 106 mph line drive leading off the bottom of the first inning. The ball ricocheted off May as he whirled in an attempt to get out of the way. It caromed on one hop right to third baseman David Hamilton, who threw out the speedy Mets rookie at first.
May grimaced as he bent forward, favoring the area around his right shoulder blade and armpit.
“In the moment, didn’t feel great,” he said. “Took my breath away. Was just trying to get my breath back.”
Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy and an athletic trainer went to the mound to check on May, who was surrounded by Brewers infielders.
After a long consultation, May threw several warmup pitches, raising his arm and shaking his right hand between tosses. Murphy then motioned to the dugout and May followed him off the mound.
“When I threw it, it felt fine,” May said. “But sitting there for a couple seconds after — threw the next one and it didn’t feel right. They were more on the cautious side of, better to be safe now and protect you for later.”
May still hopes to make his next scheduled start.
“I think it all just depends on how I feel (Thursday),” he said after the Brewers pieced together an 8-1 win. “Right now, with motions and movements and stuff, feel better now that I know nothing is structurally wrong.”
Left-hander Robert Gasser replaced May and got the win by tossing 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball. Grant Anderson and Bryse Wilson combined to allow three hits over the final 3 1/3 shutout innings.
“We planned just using May as an opener,” Murphy said with a grin. “Parts of six (innings for Gasser) — great, really great. Made big pitches at big times.”
It was the first relief outing of Gasser’s three-year big league career and just his sixth as a professional.
“Definitely something I haven’t had to experience before,” Gasser said. “I didn’t even sit down out there.”
May is a significant member of the starting rotation for the Brewers, who are a major league-best 82-51 as they chase a fourth consecutive NL Central title.
He was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals at the Aug. 3 trade deadline and is 6-8 with a 4.56 ERA in 25 outings this season. Making his fourth start for Milwaukee, he became the first major league starter to exit after one pitch since Pablo López with the Miami Marlins on July 2, 2021.
Murphy agreed that May remains a candidate to start for the Brewers early next week.
“We’re hopeful,” the manager said.
The 6-foot-6 May, who turns 29 next month, has undergone Tommy John surgery twice and also required life-saving surgery after he suffered a tear of his esophagus while eating dinner in 2024 when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
May said he didn’t think about his injury-plagued past after being struck by the line drive.
“Not in the moment,” he said. “I’m thinking about trying to stay in the game at that point.”
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