Dustin May produced a 101-pitch, one-hitter to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-0 victory over the San Diego Padres on Monday night, delivering his first complete game in 71 major league starts and the biggest display of his injury-plagued career.
ST. LOUIS — The Busch Stadium crowd had barely settled after a perfect-game scare in the seventh when Dustin May turned back into the pitcher he wanted to be all along.
May delivered a complete-game shutout Monday night, holding the San Diego Padres to one hit in a 3-0 Cardinals victory. For a night. after losing a perfect game in the seventh inning. the right-hander won back the kind of adulation that feels impossible to manufacture — and impossible to take for granted.
“This is about as good as I’ve felt in a long time,” May said after finishing the one-hitter.
The 28-year-old threw 69 strikes on 101 pitches and capped his night with his ninth strikeout. He didn’t let the Padres run freely: May issued only one walk during his first complete game in 71 major league starts.
The trouble began in the seventh inning. Fernando Tatis Jr. led off with a free pass. and two batters later Manny Machado’s single to left field broke up May’s no-hit bid. But the moment didn’t unravel him. May retired the last seven batters he faced. and the final out came with the kind of finishing bite that made the scoreboard feel secondary.
His last pitch broke low and away so sharply that Tatis was unable to check his swing. The ball skipped off the dirt and into catcher Jimmy Crooks’ glove for strike three.
May let out a triumphant roar and clenched his right fist as he left the mound. He hugged Crooks, tipped his cap to the crowd, then headed toward teammates and coaches who had lined up in front of the dugout to exchange high-fives. One teammate even dumped a chest of ice on him.
“After all the stuff I’ve been through in my career,” May said, “that was fantastic.”
The significance of the performance hit deeper than the final score. May became the first Cardinals starter this season to get an out in the eighth inning — a feat he couldn’t complete during a seven-inning. no-hit bid against Milwaukee last month. In that game. he left in the eighth and took the loss after the Brewers rallied for a 2-1 victory on May 27. This time, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol left May in.
For May, the evening carried added weight because of what it took to reach it. He has been plagued by multiple arm injuries early in his career, including a life-threatening esophagus tear. He totaled just 101 innings pitched between 2021 and 2024, missing the entire 2024 season. He began his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. who traded him to Boston last season. and this season is his first with St. Louis.
Monday night’s outing also landed within the broader major-league picture. May’s start marked the ninth complete game and the sixth individual shutout in the majors this season.
Dustin May St. Louis Cardinals San Diego Padres complete game shutout one-hitter Busch Stadium Fernando Tatis Jr. Manny Machado Jimmy Crooks Oliver Marmol
101 pitches wow.
So he almost had a perfect game and then got a one-hitter? Kinda crazy how he just fixed it in the 7th. Cardinals really needed that.
Wait wasn’t he injured like forever? 71 starts is wild. Also 3-0 like… that’s barely anything but I guess one hit is one hit. Padres choking or Cardinals pitching magic, hard to tell.
I saw something about him being injury-plagued and then suddenly he’s throwing strike threes in the dirt?? I’m not even gonna lie I only looked at the headline. But if Tatis can’t swing on that last pitch then yeah it’s over. Also 101 pitches sounds like they’re gonna regret it later but maybe it’s worth it for a shutout.