On a day when Dustin May surrendered 10 hits and six earned runs over four innings, the Cardinals could take heart in the promising power production flashed by right fielder Jordan Walker.
ST. LOUIS – While the Cardinals debut for right-handed pitcher Dustin May was an extremely rocky one on Sunday, things are finally starting to look up for another 6-foot-6 member of the club also trying to make 2026 a bounce-back year.
May, who signed a one-year, $12 million free-agent contract with the Cardinals in the offseason to try and revive his career, was rocked to the tune of six earned runs and 10 hits over four innings of Sunday’s 11-7 loss to the Rays.
May’s troubles aside, the Cardinals saw plenty to be encouraged by regarding 6-foot-6 slugger Jordan Walker, who smashed a three-run home run and laced a 114.9 mph double in the team’s first loss of the season.
“Today, my head was just a little bit more clear and I think that’s the best way to hit – by clearing your head a little bit,” said Walker, who was 3 for 4 and had four hits in the three-game series. “I’m always trying to find things to keep my head from thinking about mechanics.”
Already on the hook for three runs, May came unraveled in the fourth inning when he walked No. 9 hitter and Hunter Feduccia with two outs and then surrendered three consecutive doubles for another three runs.
“That definitely wasn’t my brightest moment,” May said. “I definitely didn’t want to do that in the moment, and it shouldn’t even be an option.”
Walker, who is likely in something of a proverbial sink-or-swim season with the Cardinals, registered three extra-base hits in the opening series. It is the first time he’s had at least three extra-base hits in a series since Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2023, when he had three doubles against the rival Reds.
A slow starter each of the past two years, Walker didn’t record his third hit of the 2025 season until his 26th game. Sunday’s performance was the seventh of his career with two extra-base hits – and his first since the 2024 season. He also added an eight-inning single ahead of Pedro Pagés’ two-run homer.
Walker, who is still two months shy of his 24th birthday, drew the Cardinals within 6-4 in the fourth inning when he drilled a ball 415 feet and over the wall in left-center. Having changed his swing and plate approach several times in hopes of getting better coverage on the outer half of the plate, Walker stayed on an 83.3 mph changeup from Steven Matz that was just off the plate. The 250-pound Walker was still strong enough to drive it over the wall and show why the Cardinals are desperate to help him reach his seemingly enormous potential.
“That was really nice to see after what we have been working on in my one-on-ones with (assistant hitting coach) Casey (Chenoweth),” Walker said of staying on the outside pitch and being able to drive it. “And then after going over things today with (hitting coach Brant Brown) – the moves and everything like that – it was really good for me to stay on that changeup like that.”
Lefty slugger Nolan Gorman, another player surrounded by questions like Walker, drilled his first homer of the season in the eighth inning. On Sunday, Gorman – who didn’t start against Matz – hit a 3-2 pitch 443 feet. Like Walker, Gorman already has three hits over his first three games of the season.
“I like the fact that Gorman takes a big swing, (Pedro Pagés) did the same thing, Walker and Masyn (Winn) just continue to add pressure regardless of the score,” Marmol said. “We just keep punching back and it’s been a heck of a lot of fun watching these guys do what they do.”
Jeff Curry-Imagn ImagesFully healthy for the first time in years and riding high after a stellar Spring Training where the velocity on his fastball soared, May had just one 1-2-3 inning on Sunday – and it came after he picked Jonny DeLuca off first following an infield single. He allowed five of the first six to reach in the second inning and he complicated matters with a run-scoring wild pitch.
May’s 16 four-seam fastballs averaged 96.3 mph of velocity, but four were hit hard. He leaned more on his sweeper (18), but the Rays rocked those pitches for four hits and three hard-hit lasers. Of his 61 pitches, May recorded just four swings and misses.
“It’s just an execution thing,” May said. “Not being middle and being more on the sides of the plate.”
Marmol thought May would have more success than he did on Sunday, especially considering how he threw the ball in Spring Training.
“What we saw in spring was that he was ahead with almost everything with his (velocity) and how he’s accustomed to building up,” Marmol said before Saturday’s game. “So, we’re in a good spot there.”
JJ Wetherholt, one of the heroes of the first two victories with his debut home run and a walk-off winner on Saturday, had a fifth-inning single to extend his hit streak to three games. However, that fifth-inning rally – one with two-on and nobody-out – crumbled when Ivan Herrera grounded into a double play and Alec Burleson popped out.
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