BOSTON – For two glorious innings, Dustin May was the pitcher of the Dodgers’ dreams, the one with a spin rate worth waiting for through multiple surgeries. He retired nine batters in a row at one point, striking out five of six in the third and fourth innings.
Then reality returned and he reverted back to the mistake-prone, inconsistent pitcher whose days in the Dodgers’ starting rotation could be over this week.
On back-to-back pitches, he surrendered a triple off the Green Monster and a two-run home run over it, giving up three runs in a blink as the Dodgers lost to the Boston Red Sox 4-3 Sunday afternoon, dropping two of three in the weekend series at Fenway Park.
Until then, May was getting the better of World Series hero Walker Buehler in his reunion matchup. Buehler needed 104 pitches to get through 4 ⅔ innings, walked five and left the game with his ERA a swollen 5.72, still trying to find himself in Boston.
Like Buehler, May could find himself in another uniform if speculation about the Dodgers’ willingness to include him in a trade-deadline deal proves prophetic. Or he could simply be the odd man out in a starting rotation soon to be stuffed to overflowing (with Blake Snell coming back next weekend and Shohei Ohtani nearly built up to full-fledged starter strength).
Pitching with that hanging over his head, May hit a batter and gave up a run in the first inning but was cruising into the fifth inning.
Michael Conforto has his own reasons to be worrying about his job. The Dodgers’ deadline shopping list includes an upgrade to what he has provided in left field – a low bar to clear. The free agent signee spent the first three months of the season establishing himself as a bust but he has stepped it up to serviceable in July.
He helped set May up with a lead with a solo home run off Buehler in the fourth and added a pair of doubles in a 3-for-4 game. Back in the lineup Sunday, Mookie Betts made it a 3-1 lead with a two-out RBI single later that inning.
It all went away so quickly.
May retired the first batter in the fifth but he ruined his afternoon with three pitches. He left an 0-and-1 cutter up over the plate and No.9 hitter, Abraham Toro, pushed it into center field for a single.
May’s first pitch to Anthony was a sinker that didn’t. He lofted a fly ball down the left field line. It collided with the wall. Conforto misplayed the carom and Anthony wound up with a triple. May’s next pitch was a bad sweeper that strayed over the heart of the plate. Bregman swatted it over the wall for a two-run home run.
The Dodgers had chances to answer back in the sixth (a leadoff double by Miguel Rojas) and seventh (a two-out double by Conforto). Both were stranded.
In the eighth, Aroldis Chapman put the tying run in scoring position again with back-to-back walks before he left with an injury. Teoscar Hernandez lined into a double play, second baseman Ceddane Rafaela diving to beat Hyeseong Kim back to the base.
And again in the ninth, Conforto drew a two-out walk and pinch-runner Esteury Ruiz stole second to put the tying run in scoring position. But Tommy Edman grounded out and the Dodgers finished the day 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position.