BOSTON — Six days after he was acquired in a deadline trade — and 10 days after he last pitched, coincidentally also at Fenway Park — Dustin May made his Red Sox debut Wednesday night against the Royals. It was one to forget.
May faced constant traffic and watched his pitch count soar fast as he lasted just 3 ⅔ innings and took the loss as Kansas City snapped Boston’s seven-game win streak, 7-3, in the series finale. May allowed six hits, issued a walk and hit two batters while needing 91 pitches to record just 11 outs.
May stranded runners in his first three innings and entered the fourth inning with a 2-1 lead. But he issued a leadoff walk to Adam Frazier (then picked him off), then allowed three straight singles to Jonathan India, John Rave and Kyle Isbel to allow the Royals to go ahead for good. His final pitch of the night hit superstar Bobby Witt Jr.
“Started off good. Then just fell apart and the wheels fell off in the fourth,” said May. “Just lost myself mechanically. It’s been a minute since I’ve been on the mound for some depth. But no excuses. It’s got to be better.”
May has now allowed seven earned runs in 8 ⅔ frames at Fenway in the last two weeks while wearing two different uniforms.
“I like it a lot,” he said about pitching at Fenway. “I haven’t had much success in my two outings but it’s great. Fans are great, atmosphere is fantastic and I’ve got to pitch better for them.”
The Red Sox haven’t been shy about the fact they aimed higher when it came to rotation additions ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline. They pursued rentals like Merrill Kelly and controllable, front-line options like Joe Ryan and Sandy Alcantara before ultimately sending prospects James Tibbs III and Zach Ehrhard to Los Angeles in a last-minute deal for May. The opportunity cost was relatively low for the soon-to-be 28-year-old, who was on the verge of being pushed out of the Dodgers’ rotation. The Red Sox also identified some development opportunities for him that they hope to unlock.
One of them is increasing the use of May’s cutter. He threw 27 of them (30%) on Wednesday after using it as a fourth option throughout his time in L.A.
“We dug into it a little bit,” said May, discussing his conversations with Boston’s pitching department. “They kind of wanted me to get my feet wet for the first one, then dig in a little bit. We definitely talked about pitch usage.
“They had the idea (to throw more cutters),” he added. “In L.A., it was moreso just use it as an influence but they like it was a weapon pitch and I kind of agree. It can be really effective. It’s just got to be executed.”
May threw 61 of his 91 pitches for strikes but the three free passes (the walk and two hit batsmen) proved costly.
“He threw strikes. A lot of foul balls,” said manager Alex Cora. “The pitch count got up there. They didn’t hit him hard, just put the ball in play. That’s what they do. I was pleased with the strike-throwing.”
The Red Sox plan to look back at May’s outing and dig in on potential adjustments ahead of his next outing in Houston on Tuesday night.
“I think you let him be. Come and pitch, then from there… yeah, we talked to the Dodgers and we’ve got people around, but just get your feet wet first and then we’ll make adjustments if we have to.
The loss prevented the Red Sox from completing a perfect homestand after sweeping the Astros in three games and beating the Royals in their first two matchups. After an off day Thursday comes a tough road trip in which Boston will visit the Padres and Astros.
“Now, we’ve got to go on the road and we’ve got to be better,” said Cora of the Sox, who are 25-30 on the road. “That’s the reality of it. We’ve got a tough one, a tough road trip to San Diego and Houston. Two tough places to play.
“We haven’t been in San Diego in two years. I’m excited about it because it’s another place our young guys are going to learn a lot. They have a veteran team with a good pitching staff and a fan base that’s rabid. They really want it.”
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