After a frightening injury scare, Milwaukee Brewers' Dustin May returns to the mound seeking redemption.
Heading into a monstrous four-game stretch at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs, the Milwaukee Brewers know they need their bullpen to be in fantastic shape.
For the most part, they've done a great job navigating this 16-game-in-16-days stretch, but Dustin May's one-pitch start nearly derailed everything.
May threw just one pitch against the New York Mets on Wednesday, Aug. 26, but thankfully for manager Pat Murphy and Co., Robert Gasser stepped up in a big way.
Gasser knew he was likely making a bullpen appearance that game to stay fresh ahead of his expected start on Sunday, Aug. 30, but he and May swapped places after May had to exit once he was hit with a 106 mph line drive that struck him in the back.
Now, May is healthy and will be pitching against the Texas Rangers in this series finale, which Milwaukee has already locked up with 6-1 and 5-3 victories.
What to expect from May's return
The biggest question mark surrounding May's return is whether or not he's truly 100%. Brewers fans were able to watch him throw a few practice pitches after getting hit on Wednesday, but Murphy decided it was best to pull him from the game altogether.
Those practice throws were a good sign that things could've gone differently had Murphy kept him in the game, but obviously, now sitting at 85-51, that wasn't a risk worth taking.
All of the X-rays and everything came back negative, so once the Brewers announced May would be attempting another start a few days later, it made perfect sense that he and Gasser would simply flip spots in this six-man rotation.
The biggest thing regarding May's start is the fact that the Brewers need their bullpen as healthy as humanly possible going into this Cubs series. Sure, they currently have an eight-game cushion in the National League Central, but they'll be playing the Cubs seven times over their next 10 games, so there's a chance the standings could flip in a huge way by the time Sept. 9 comes around.
Remember, May was coming off a horrific two-inning start against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday, Aug. 19, where he allowed seven earned runs on seven hits in just two innings.
His start against the Mets was supposed to get him back on track, but it did the opposite. Instead, he'll have a chance to impress against the Rangers, a team that has been outscored 11-4 in the first two games of this series.
