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Rome Brewers (1) at Los Angeles Dodgers (2), 8:00 PM ET
MIL: RHP Dustin May (7-9, 4.70 ERA, 97 DRA-);
LAD: RHP Tyler Glasnow (5-2, 3.53 ERA, 79 DRA-).
Dustin May was at one time one of the Dodgers’ most beloved young players, rocking a spike, jock-worthy stuff and jaw-dropping long, curly red hair — who would set up his rotation for the next decade. But unfortunately, as we all know by now, he suffered one injury after another and never made it to LA.When his speed returned to mid-level following Tommy John surgery, the Dodgers finally gave up on him. I wish he had already put the team together in the last two seasons and worked really hard not to run away. it somehow looks as if it is stuck in the streets.
Perhaps the most unfortunate fact about Mayo is that he is barely 29 years old, and despite making his debut at 21, he has only pitched 469 innings in the majors. That’s after 145 of them this season, with May making 30-plus starts in a calendar year for the first time in his career. And while his ERA wasn’t good enough, the good news: his peripherals and accessories are much better! The greater part, though not all, recovered their former speed; it now sits at 97 mph and can tail it or carry it at will. He also has a usual dromon, which he favors on the left, and his broken voices have always been seen as a joke.
On paper, then, is the May frontispiece-to-be-started. But in practice, as the operation does not generate those effects. His broken voices have always been strangely terrible at generating streaks and aberrations, perhaps moving so much that they can see them from his hand. His claw and vein rates are solidly average, and he tends to hit pretty hard. The last one is somehow more important: How can this person not be good? starting pitcher in baseball. (A title that used to belong to Nick Pivetta, and could be seen as a consolation in May 2030.) But he’ll get opportunities as long as his stuff is theoretically as good as it gets. and he must
Glasnow, meanwhile, settled into his role as one of baseball’s most prolific quarterbacks. He effectively pitched in the NLDS clincher, allowing just one hit but walking five in 4 innings. Dave Roberts has shown in the past that he is comfortable with Glasnow facing the order three times in a game setting, but with the Dodgers behind in the series and potential Tarik Skubal immediately following Glasnow’s start, I would expect a shorter matchup than usual.
But this is far from an open place; Glasnow’s chances of not quite lasting May in this game are very slim outside of a massive collapse. Glasnow’s system of attack fits this situation perfectly: pitches and curveballs to lefties, mixed more fully with righties. There will be a peak in the zone (at least in theory), both four-foot and two-seam, with a hunting pitch curve. A slip of paper hangs in the Glasnow Sentiment that day.
It’s been a while since Glasnow got consistent with his fastball whiffs. In terms of control, although the old man has changed, he commands too much, and he can sometimes falter. Let them hold a matchup with Milwaukee’s pesky and training line, if his command is working, he has the stuff to tame them, but if he can’t find the zone and becomes predictable, there’s a good chance that Milwaukee is extracting at least 20 points per inning from him. Glasnow is also notoriously bad at catching runners, and the Brewers have shown a willingness to get aggressive on the bases. The double walks would be a problem for the Dodgers if they came.
There’s some long-term speculation there, with this matchup set up, that could make it a magical matchup of larger proportions if you’re willing to tweak it a little. It is not every day that a former savior has the ability to bury those who have once been encouraged, and that former savior turns into a successor. Glasnow essentially filled May’s role in the Dodgers’ plans with his arrival in 2024—in another universe, perhaps they would start back-to-back playoff games. In this case, however, he will not be able to write an epic story against his former club. (The first season “beginning” consisted of 14 women and 51 voices.) But he will be the first in a long line of weapons trying to free him from grace. Glasnow’s story will be more classic in shape, but don’t expect Dave Roberts to keep the leash too loose, especially after the seventh inning last night.