The Dodgers witnessed an unfortunate sight in their series finale against the Twins on Wednesday: starting pitcher Dustin May exited after one inning and 16 pitches with right elbow pain.
The flare-up comes almost exactly two years after May underwent Tommy John surgery on the elbow. The right-hander was limited to 11 starts across 2021 and 2022.
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May's velocity was noticeably down in the inning, and he left the field quickly on his way back to the dugout afteward.
Dustin May left the game with right elbow pain.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 17, 2023
May was off to an extremely strong start in 2023: He was 4-1 with a 2.68 ERA, 32 strikeouts, and 16 walks across his first eight starts (47 innings pitched) prior to Wednesday.
He is the latest Los Angeles pitcher to experience an injury setback early in the season. LA has eight pitchers on the injured list and fellow starter Noah Syndergaard is dealing with a cut on the index finger of his pitching hand.
Here is what is known about May's injury:
What is Dustin May's injury?
As noted above, the Dodgers said May experienced "right elbow pain." May underwent ligament replacement surgery on the same elbow two years ago.
According to Dave Roberts, May suffered a flexor pronator strain, per Dodger Insider.
How long is Dustin May out?
The nature of a pronator strain is difficult to build out a timetable for.
Roberts said May will have an IL stint and it's unknown when he'll return.
Dustin May injury history
Like so many modern starting pitchers, May has a had a series of arm troubles.
He tore his UCL May 1, 2021, and underwent Tommy John surgery on May 12 of that year.
He missed the remainder of the 2021 season and most of the 2022 season before returning Aug. 20, 2022. He was shut down on Sept. 24, 2022, because of back tightness.
This article will be updated.
