Dave Roberts flexing his managerial genius by starting Dustin May in Game 3

Dave Roberts is going with Dustin May on the mound for the Dodgers in Game 3.

The San Diego Padres already faced Dustin May once this series, and it didn’t go well for them. Hopefully the Pads have regained their cool after losing their minds on Wednesday night because the Los Angeles Dodgers will be trotting May out there to start a Game 3 that could send SD packing.

May came on in relief of ace Walker Buehler on Tuesday after the right-hander had thrown 95 pitches in four innings. San Diego was leading 1-0, but May halted any momentum they may have had, throwing just 27 pitches across two scoreless innings. He got the win and struck out three after facing the first six batters in the Padres’ lineup.

Roberts made sure to preserve May for another appearance in Game 3, and the managerial genius couldn’t be more on display. May is the exact kind of force you want starting a game, even though in this situation it might not be for too long. He’s being used as a weapon in two separate instances to perfection.

Additionally, May has the most exposure against the Padres than any other team he’s faced in his two-year career. Though he’s just 1-3 against the division rivals, he owns a 2.97 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in seven games (four starts). He’s struck out 25 batters in the 30.1 innings of work. The damage the Pads did to him came in 2019, his rookie year — his stats are even better in 2020.

What manager in MLB has managed to utilize an ace-like talent as a reliever and starter in the span of three games? Roberts is sending a message. He wants to shut down the Padres tonight and give his team time to rest before the NLCS, especially after the Braves just swept the Marlins.

May always figured to be an integral part of the Dodgers’ pitching plan and we can already see how Roberts plans to deploy him the rest of the way if things get dicey. Let him cook for 2-3 innings tonight, and then the Dodgers can go to Tony Gonsolin and/or Julio Urias after taxing the bullpen the last couple of nights.

Perhaps the best-case scenario would be having those guys go three innings apiece in a win. That’s a lot to ask for, but that’s what Roberts has set the team up to do. Operation Shutdown San Diego is in full swing.

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