Cardinals fans' fears only rise after Dustin May is shelled in debut outing

The St. Louis Cardinals dropped game three against the Rays on opening weekend by a final score of 11-7. 

Rays play spoiler to Dustin May's Cardinals debut

Dustin May’s home opener ended sourly at the hands of a Tampa Bay offense that looked sharp all series. The big right-hander looked good early, racking up his first K and ‘sword’ as a Cardinal against Tampa Bay’s Cedric Mullins. 

The second inning is where the Rays' series-long swing-early approach really caught May off guard. It was clear that May had a good feel for the four-seamer/sinker, but his offspeed stuff functioned sporadically. 

When the Rays started jumping on pitches early in the count, May answered by spinning a few curveballs, most of which narrowly missed the mark. 

In the third inning, May managed to stay out of trouble and navigated a shutdown frame. The Rays went back to their offensive barrage tactics in the fourth when they put up another three-spot on May, eventually ending his Cardinal debut. 

The final line for May was four innings, ten hits, six earned runs, one walk, and three strikeouts, nothing to look twice at for the newcomer. The Rays and Cardinals offenses both produced incredible numbers on opening weekend. So maybe May just ran into a buzzsaw? We’ll see come next start. 

There were flashes in the pan during an otherwise bleak outing. May showed off above-average velocity and maintained it all the way through his start, and when he stayed on top of his slurve and curveball, they were sharp and produced great depth. 

There is still work to be done for one of the newest Cardinals, but this definitely wasn’t the introduction fans were hoping for. The arm talent is real, the ceiling is high, but execution operates as a nomad, and May was stuck in the mud in his first start of 2026.