Dustin May provides encouraging debut for Brewers

Pitcher Dustin May is now a Milwaukee Brewer. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Dustin May provides encouraging debut for Brewers

By Vanessa Serrao | Last updated Aug 6, 2026 7:57 PM ET

It was an encouraging debut on Thursday for new Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Dustin May.

The Brewers upgraded their rotation on Aug. 3 by acquiring May from the St. Louis Cardinals. The move paid immediate dividends as May picked up the win in the Brewers' 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The 28-year-old right-hander (6-7, 4.30 ERA) has 111 strikeouts and a 1.27 WHIP across 113 innings pitched this season.

May threw 23 pitches in the first inning but held the Pirates scoreless, striking out Brandon Lowe following an ABS overturned call, then getting two swinging strikeouts from Bryan Reynolds and Endy Rodriguez. While the Pirates answered with two runs off of May in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Brewers offense responded with run support for their new starter.

A home run from Gary Sanchez and an RBI single from Brice Turang in the fifth and an RBI single in the sixth from Andrew Vaughan extended the Brewers' lead to 5-2. May went six innings and allowed two earned runs on three hits, walking three with five strikeouts.

Dustin May in his Brewers debut:

6 IP | 3 H | 2 ER | 3 BB | 5 K

He's allowed just 3 runs over his last 3 starts! pic.twitter.com/zcrdiTU3sS
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) August 6, 2026

Dustin May's debut with Brewers contradicts notable pattern with traded pitchers

While May's performance could have been sharper as the only pitch that was working for him was his cutter, that pitch did generate a 68% zone rate against a Pirates lineup filled with left-handed hitters.

May becomes one of the first newly acquired starters across MLB to enjoy a promising debut, as struggles have been a recurring pattern with Tarik Skubal, Foster Griffin, Casey Mize and Freddy Peralta all struggling in their debuts with their new teams.

While Skubal gave up only two runs and struck out six, he still picked up the loss for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have now dropped six in a row. Robbie Ray is the next newly acquired starter who will make his debut with the San Diego Padres on Friday.

Mize put up a disastrous performance for the Padres on Wednesday, and Ray will look to hopefully provide San Diego with a better result in his debut.

Vanessa Serrao

Serrao is a freelance baseball writer who has covered all MLB teams, with particular expertise on the Toronto Blue Jays. She is a member of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America.

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