MILWAUKEE — Dustin May needed 23 pitches to navigate his first inning in a Brewers uniform. When he induced a swinging third strike from Pirates cleanup hitter Endy Rodríguez to end a scoreless frame, May flexed his arms and let out a yell.
Acquired from the Cardinals at Monday’s Trade Deadline, May walked the first batter he faced, committed a first-inning balk and hit a batter in the second. But he made up for what he lacked in efficiency by relying far more than usual on his cutter and lasting six effective innings of a 5-2 Brewers’ win on Thursday over the Pirates at American Family Field.
The Brewers won their third straight game after dropping the series opener, getting a first-inning homer from Jackson Chourio and a go-ahead solo shot from catcher Gary Sánchez in the fifth and stellar defense throughout the afternoon to back May, who allowed two runs on three hits, with three walks and five strikeouts in a 97-pitch Milwaukee debut.
That will play for the Brewers, who have the best starters’ ERA in the Majors at 3.36 but lack the sort of experience of May, even though he’s shy of his 29th birthday. That was one factor in Milwaukee’s aggressive approach to pursuing pitching at the Trade Deadline, an effort that failed to land Tarik Skubal from the Tigers but did net May and left-handed reliever JoJo Romero from the Cardinals, and right-hander Antonio Senzatela from the Rockies.
So far, so good. Romero is still recovering from an appendectomy and won’t pitch until later this month, but Senzatela had already pitched twice in relief for the Brewers before May took the mound on Thursday.
