As the entire baseball world awaits an update on 23-year-old Dodgers right-hander Dustin May, who had to exit Saturday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field in the second inning after making only 27 pitches for what appears to be a serious injury to his right elbow, the Dodgers continue to lick their collective wounds after their third consecutive loss to the Brewers and eighth loss in their last 10 games.

The mood of Dodger fans (on social media) and that of the Dodgers themselves was noticeably somber as the Dodgers fell to the Brewers 6-5 in 11 innings of yet another ‘should have won’ game.

During his obligatory postgame Zoom media conference, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters that he had no additional information on his young right-hander, saying only that May felt “a shooting sensation” in his right elbow after throwing a 2-2 fastball to Brewers left fielder Billy McKinney.

“He said he felt a shooting sensation through his arm on one of those curveballs in the beginning of the at-bat,” Roberts said.

Asked if he is concerned that May’s injury might potentially be serious and long-term, Roberts said what we all pretty much knew.

“Any time a pitcher comes out of the game, and once you’re talking about the elbow, you’re concerned, certainly, for him,” Roberts answered. “I don’t want to get ahead of it until we know more, though.

“The wins and the losses are going to happen,” Roberts added. “We’ll know more with the MRI, but certainly the health of the player, short-term, long term, is our biggest concern.”

According to Roberts, that MRI will take place in Chicago on Monday, when the team opens a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

As for Saturday’s game itself, it has become painfully obvious that what Roberts repeatedly calls “a little lull” is, in fact, a bonified full-blown team-wide slump, whether he chooses to acknowledge it or not. And while the Dodgers skipper – and nearly every Dodger fan on the planet – continue to say (ad nauseam) “It’s still early,” Dodgers superstar outfielder Mookie Betts, who led off Saturday’s game with a solo home run on the very first pitch, offered a far more accurate take on that “It’s still early” thing when asked what the mood has been in the Dodgers clubhouse during their current bonified full-blown team-wide slump.

“Obviously a little frustration,” Betts began. “We understand it’s a long season, we can get it back rolling, but we can’t keep wasting time. I think it’s kind of twofold – It is a long season, but also, we gotta be there for each and every game, and we haven’t been lately.”

Could it be that our beloved future Hall of Fame outfielder is coming to grips with the fact that even though the Dodgers have completed only 28 of their scheduled 162 games thus far this season, it might not be as “still early” as many (most) people think? (Rhetorical).

The irony (and painful truth) about this whole “It’s still early” thing is that you never hear it around teams that are doing well; you only hear it around teams that are struggling.

…say, like, the Dodgers.

Play Ball!

  *  *  *  *  *  *