Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES — It’s been a long road back, but on Tuesday night, Dodger fans finally got to see Dustin May back where he belongs — on the mound at Chavez Ravine. After nearly two years away from Major League action, May delivered five shutout innings in the Dodgers’ 3-1 win over the Braves, showing flashes of the electric stuff that made him one of the most exciting arms in baseball before injuries derailed his career.
This wasn’t just a comeback—it was a moment years in the making, one that carried more emotional weight than even his Major League debut or postseason appearances. May admitted that emotions were high right from the start. “There was definitely a lot of emotions that got let out after the first hitter and the first inning,” he said. “It was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. It was just super, super great to be back out there.”
Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper baseball story without a little mishap. May’s return was slightly marred by a mix-up with his entrance music. “To start off, they started with the wrong walk out song so that kind of pissed me off to start the game,” he said, chuckling. “But, um, it’s okay. It ended up being a good start so I can’t complain about it.”
While the music might’ve been off, his performance on the mound was anything but. He was efficient and sharp, showing that his arsenal still plays at the highest level. “It means the world,” he said. “Knowing that my stuff still plays—I mean, I thought I could strike a lot of guys out of my bullpens that I’ve been throwing, ’cause I’ve thrown a lot of them—but it was good to actually get big league hitters out.”
May’s night was made even sweeter by the Dodgers’ late-inning rally to take the lead and seal the win. “It was huge,” he said. “We’re never out of it. Especially with the hitters that we got—we can go score 10 runs in one inning. We’re a very, very talented team.”
But for May, Tuesday night wasn’t just about wins and stats. It was about finally being back—after a grueling recovery process that included not only Tommy John surgery, but a life-threatening esophageal issue that brought everything, including baseball, to a standstill. “I was so close before my esophagus,” May explained. “I was less than a month away from being back at that time. Then after the esophagus thing happened, it was just like total reset. There’s nothing I can even do at the moment. So, like, playing baseball was at the very back of my mind. I was just trying to get healthy, get home, and be able to see the next morning.”
Coming off the mound after his final pitch, May took a quiet moment to himself in the dugout, allowing the weight of it all to sink in. “It was just kind of a release of emotions,” he said. “Everything that I’ve been through in the last two years—it was like I could just kind of relax. I’ve got my feet, my footing, and now—now we go.”
He also acknowledged the crowd and the support he felt from Dodgers fans. “Yeah, that was… that was felt great. Felt really good,” he said. “It literally meant the world to me just to be back out on the mound. Because about eight months ago, I didn’t know if I would be.”
May also talked about the new perspective he’s gained through the process. “I used to let my emotions kind of get the best of me—like every pitch, everything would be super high or super low,” he said. “Being able to stay a little bit more level-headed throughout life in general has been one of my biggest things in the last probably six months. Everything is going to be okay no matter what happens. So just looking at the positive side of things.”
He admitted to taking a moment to look up and silently reflect during the game. “I was thanking the Lord for the opportunity to be back,” May said. “There’s been a lot of praying and a lot of devotion to Him in the last two years of my life. And I attribute all of my success to Him.”
When asked to compare the emotions of this start to other major milestones in his career, May was clear. “Completely different and like way more heavy,” he said. “The debut, the World Series, and all that stuff is kind of… not expected, but like you’re there in the moment and like everything is like going on—you know it’s coming. And like this, it’s like I didn’t know if I was going to come back. So it was a huge, huge like sigh of relief.”
Even from a pure baseball standpoint, he was pleased with the way everything felt. “It was good,” he said. “That’s the best that I felt—mechanical wise and stuff-wise—tonight. So I just got to keep looking forward.”
May also gave insight into what kept him going during the darkest parts of his rehab. “It’s our job too, no matter what happens,” he said. “I was looking for the positive side of things even though there wasn’t really a very bright light at the end of the tunnel at the time. I had to scratch and claw my way out and find my way back.”
Now, with a successful return under his belt, all eyes are on what’s next. And while he didn’t reveal the song that should’ve played on his return, he teased that we’ll “have to wait for the next one.”
Dustin May is back. And if Tuesday night was any indication, he’s got a lot more in the tank.
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