Dustin May’s role for series remains unknown

Dustin May went at least four innings in 10 of his 12 outings during the regular season. At this rate so far, it’s unclear as to whether or not he’ll throw that many innings in a game through the rest of the postseason.

May appeared in Game 1 of the NLCS, throwing 1 ²⁄₃ innings of scoreless baseball out of the bullpen. This was his third outing of the playoffs, as he’s totaled eight innings. His longest outing came in Game 1 of the NLDS when he pitched the fifth and sixth innings.

You would think May would be used as a starter this series, since he started majority of games in 2020. However, Dave Roberts appears to have other plans.

“That’s a possibility,” Roberts said when asked if May could potentially make the start in Game 5 on only three days rest. “Dustin did a great job for us. To have him make a start as we look out, it’s a good possibility.”

When speaking to the media the other day, Roberts was asked about balancing May and having him make an impact in two or three games was more important than just one.

“There’s a balance between running a guy out there to get outs but also taking care of him, but also maximizing performance in a particular series,” Roberts said. “All that stuff came into our thought process.”

We all though May would be getting the regular start in Game 3 of the NLDS, but instead he was used as an opener. Tony Gonsolin has yet to pitch this postseason, so we’re bound to see him eat the bulk of the innings in Game 3 or Game 4. Whichever game he doesn’t pitch will likely be Julio Urias doing the same thing.

That leaves a potential Game 5, which the Dodgers will have to play in should they win a game in this series. Could we see May potentially get the start and eat innings, or will we see him only pitch an inning or two and appear in another game?

Your guess is as good as mine. If I were a betting man, my guess would be that we’ll be seeing May more than once over the rest of this series.