Dustin May leaves early in Cardinals-Braves tilt after liner hits right ankle, contusion

In the series finale in Atlanta, Cardinals starting pitcher Dustin May’s outing ended sooner than planned when a line drive hit his right ankle in the first inning. May was struck with the bases loaded and, after the ball deflected off his ankle before rolling into the outfield, he was removed as he dealt with what the team described as an ankle contusion.

The early damage came quickly. With the Cardinals trailing by a narrow margin and Atlanta loading the bases, Dominic Smith delivered a one-out, three-run double on May’s 30th pitch of the inning. The run-scoring hit put the Braves ahead 4-3, turning what began as a tense first-inning sequence into a lead they carried forward.

Before the inning flipped, the Cardinals and May had managed to stay afloat early. MLB’s report on the game notes May entered the bottom of the first with a 3-0 lead after Jordan Walker’s three-run home run, giving him a cushion to work with even as Atlanta began stacking baserunners.

May’s first batter of the frame, Drake Baldwin, reached on a line-drive single. Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson then drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. May struck out Michael Harris II looking, but he still allowed an RBI single to Mauricio Dubón before Smith’s double brought in three more runs.

Even after the ankle strike, May briefly remained part of the inning. The Cardinals report says May stayed on his knees for several minutes while manager Oliver Marmol and the team’s training staff checked on him. After a few warmup pitches, May faced additional batters before being replaced, according to the same account.

Marmol eventually turned to left-hander Justin Bruihl to finish the inning. Bruihl retired Baldwin on a groundout to end the first, preventing the Braves from extending the rally further before the game moved to later innings under new circumstances.

What comes next for the Cardinals hinges on how serious the contusion is and how quickly May can return to normal pitching activity. With starters’ workloads tightening as July progresses, any time missed by a major league rotation arm can ripple through the bullpen usage and the team’s ability to line up their best matchups. For Atlanta, the immediate swing created by Smith’s double provides an early blueprint, showing how quickly May’s command and rhythm can be tested once runners are on base and traffic builds.

For fans watching the Cardinals over the next few days, the key question is whether May’s ankle responds normally after the impact. The Braves will also look for continuity after the first-inning rally, particularly from the middle of the order, since Smith’s gap power was the decisive piece once the bases were loaded.