'A new beginning': May returns to mound after life-threatening moment

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Dustin May took a hop and a skip, pointed skyward and spoke into his glove as he left the mound.

He was met by a Dodgers dugout full of handshakes and high fives, teammates well aware of the moment.

May was back where he belonged. Back where he excels.

May faced Major League hitters for the first time in 648 days on Sunday afternoon, when he started and pitched one scoreless inning in the Dodgers’ 8-3 Cactus League victory over the Padres.

“It felt amazing just to be back,” May said. “A huge, huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, it feels like -- even if it wouldn’t have been a clean inning, just getting back in the dugout, feeling good, being here. It was really, really heavy. I’m alive. I’m glad I’m here. Just a huge excitement, like a breath of fresh air. Like a new beginning, kind of.”

May’s 15th and final pitch Sunday was his fastest, a 95-mph four-seamer that struck out Oscar Gonzalez to end the first inning. The first two batters reached base on a single and a hit-by-pitch, but May got Gavin Sheets to ground into a double play on a 92-mph cutter. Then came the whiff.

“You can see the emotion for Dustin,” manager Dave Roberts said. “The way it has been the last few years on his trek back. I thought he did a great job of controlling his emotions. The pitch mix, the stuff was good. That was a big, big hurdle for him.”

May called it getting back to normal.

“That’s just pitching,” May said. “Just trying to not allow a run, getting back to normal, getting back into the swing of things, trying to figure out how to get through stuff. That’s part of baseball.”

That’s the part May has been forced to miss through a series of trials that included a pair of right elbow surgeries -- Tommy John surgery in 2021 and flexor tendon surgery in ‘23 -- that have compromised the past four seasons.

But even those could be considered minor compared to the life-threatening moment May faced last summer.

He suffered a torn esophagus while out to dinner with his wife and friends and had to be rushed into surgery, just as he was completing a rehab program in the Dodgers’ training facility at Camelback Ranch.

The incident began when a piece of salad got stuck in May’s throat. He swallowed some water in an attempt to clear it, but that did not work. He told the rest of the story Sunday.

“As soon as the water hit the salad in my throat, just full body-on-fire,” May said. “Rushed to the ER. Got a CAT scan. Drank some contrast fluid. Contrast fluid did not go to my stomach -- [it] went in my chest.”

At that point, about midnight, May was rushed into surgery at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. The procedure was completed at around 7 a.m., and he remained in the hospital for another 11 days before being released.

“[The salad] just got lodged in my throat a certain way. Instead of going down, it went out,” May said. “I would have been six feet under that night.”

May’s right elbow now feels as it should.

“After the first [surgery], I never felt right,” May said. “It never felt like I was ever in a good spot. After I got the second one, haven’t had a painful day of throwing since then, knock on wood.

“I was very close to getting back when I tore my esophagus. I was in a really, really great spot. It really sucked when it happened. I’m back to where I was then. I’m happy.”

May developed a new slider grip in January to complement his power arsenal, and he believes his stuff is where it always has been during a Major League career in which he has gone 12-9 with a 3.10 ERA in 46 appearances (35 starts) since 2019.

“Everything is back to normal,” May said. “The velocity is where it is at. All the shapes and metrics and releases and everything are back to normal.”

Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior has seen the same.

“The heater is very similar,” Prior said. “It’s definitely got some sink and a lot of run. For the most part, it’s pretty electric and pretty unbelievable what comes out of that arm.”

The Dodgers have decisions to make as far as the back of the starting rotation and the bullpen, and May could be in contention in both areas.

May said the life-threatening incident gave him a new perspective.

“It’s [given] me a lot more respect just to be here,” May said. “And a lot more gratitude and just happiness in my way of life.”

His role? It is not front of mind.

“I’m glad to be here and glad to be out there,” May said. “I’m just here for the ride.”