If you’ve never heard of it before, it absolutely does exist – ‘The Filth-Meter.’

If you don’t believe it, just ask Dodgers manager Dave Roberts who, following his team’s exciting 5-2 win over the division-rival San Diego Padres on Tuesday night at Petco Park, had this to say about 22-year-old right-hander Dustin May:

“I couldn’t imagine a better pitch on the filth-meter,” Roberts said of May’s 11th pitch of the game. “It started middle-in and ended up six to eight inches in. Speaks to the depth and the run. Made a really, really good hitter look pretty bad.”

The “pitch” was a 99 mph sinker, and the “really, really good hitter” was 28-year-old Padres third baseman (and former Dodger) Manny Machado; and it was, in every sense of the word, filthy.

“Honestly, I just throw it and that’s how it comes out of my hand,” May said of his now-famous filthy pitch to Machado. “I grip it and rip it, that’s my thought process.”

May absolutely positively had to be filthy on Tuesday night, as his counterpart, 28-year-old Padres right-hander Dinelson Lamet, had a no-hitter going against the Dodgers through 5.2 innings

“It’s always fun going up against a pitcher that’s doing well; it gives me the competition level because I go out there trying to outdo the other pitcher every time,” May said. “My goal is to make the other pitcher look worse than I do.

“There was more swing-and-miss tonight because I was putting the ball where I wanted it. I felt tonight I took a big step forward and I need to keep taking steps after that,” he added.

Dodgers pinch-hitter / left fielder A.J. Pollock, who went 2-for-2 off the bench with an RBI double and a solo home run on Tuesday night to up his average to .364 and OPS to 1.174, was equally impressed with the Dodgers young right-hander.

“It was pretty nasty,” said Pollock. “He’s gaining a lot of confidence and you watch his stuff, it’s pretty electric. We’re going to be counting on him for sure.”

One thing is for sure – the Dodgers, or perhaps MLB, are going to a bushel full of filth-meters every time Dustin May takes the mound; this you can take to the bank.

Play Ball!

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