On Wednesday night, a concerning incident occurred during the first inning of an MLB game, resulting in an unexpected exit for the starting pitcher. Dustin May of the Milwaukee Brewers threw his first pitch, which turned out to be his last that night.

New York Mets center fielder A.J. Ewing hit May’s 95.8 mph sinker straight back at him. Despite May’s effort to turn away, the ball, traveling at 106 mph, struck him in the back. According to the ‘Foul Territory’ podcast, the ball impacted May’s right shoulder.

David Hamilton, the Brewers’ third baseman, picked up the deflected ball and managed to throw Ewing out at first base. Meanwhile, May was clearly in pain, kneeling on the grass as the training staff attended to him. His breathing appeared to be painful due to the injury.

May attempted to continue playing by throwing several more pitches, raising and shaking his right hand between tosses, as reported by the Associated Press. However, he ultimately could not continue and walked off the field shaking his head in frustration. Fans applauded his efforts, and Robert Gasser replaced him to finish the inning.

This marked the first occurrence since Pablo Lopez had to leave a game after one pitch on July 2, 2021. According to Jerry Beach of the Associated Press, Zach Braziller of the New York Post later informed that May did not suffer a serious injury from the line drive.

The Brewers later confirmed that May suffered a right scapula contusion, and X-rays showed no fractures, as Braziller reported. While no bones were broken, May is expected to experience pain for some time due to the force of the hit.

Fortunately, May has time to recover before the playoffs. The Brewers lead the league with a record of 81-51 as of Wednesday evening. They aim to pursue the pennant and possibly the World Series in October. It would be wise for May to focus on recovering throughout September to be ready for the critical end-of-season games.