NL DIVISION SERIES: PADRES VS BREWERS

October 5, 2026

Dustin May

Petco Park

Milwaukee Brewers

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. How much does prior success against an opponent matter to you in terms of when you're getting ready for a postseason start like this and the things that you draw from those previous starts?

DUSTIN MAY: Yeah, it's definitely good to have. Everyone knows when the postseason starts that everyone is a blank slate. Going into tomorrow, just excited to have the opportunity and just looking to go out and execute.

Q. You've pitched in this ballpark a lot. What's it like pitching in front of these Padres fans? It's obviously considered one of the most hostile environments in baseball.

DUSTIN MAY: Yeah, it's a really, really fun crowd to pitch in front of. They're very energetic. They get into it. They don't take any pitches off. It's a lot of fun to be a part of for sure.

Q. I know you've pitched in hot weather before, and St. Louis can get hot and humid, last I checked, real steamy. But there is an extreme heat warning in San Diego. Does it make it harder for you to grip the ball or things you have to focus on differently, or what do you do to go about your preparation?

DUSTIN MAY: Not really. I don't sweat a whole lot, so that doesn't really affect me too much. But it's not super humid. So just going to go out as just a normal day. This is definitely not going to be one the hotter days I've thrown it. Yeah, just going to look at it as a normal day.

Q. When you kind of hit a rough patch after getting traded over to the team, what's the level of complication or adjustment that needs to be made when you're trying to work through stuff with a whole new coaching staff that you're not as familiar with as you were in maybe St. Louis or L.A.?

DUSTIN MAY: It's not the easiest, but I definitely attribute a lot to the coaching staff trying to still work with me and figure some stuff out. We've kind of nailed some things in this last week or so. Hopefully, stuff comes to a little bit of better fruition tomorrow.

Q. Does that give you more confidence going into the start?

DUSTIN MAY: Absolutely. I'm feeling good, ready to go.

Q. Can you tell us about that week during the bye? Did you throw one of those days that there were workouts? And what was that experience like? Do you still get the same experience out of that as you do a live at-bat in a game?

DUSTIN MAY: Yeah, it was good. I threw in one of the games. I threw two simulated innings to some of our hitters. You don't normally get that kind of opportunity in the middle of the year or in time off once the season is going. It's actually facing your guys live, and you can get those conversations like in real time.

So that was really cool to kind of talk to the guys after that had faced me and what they had seen.

Getting guys to second base, seeing if they see anything there, or anything visually that might look different or what they're seeing in the box, it was cool to hear from them.

Q. You guys have a 2-0 lead. Obviously you have a chance to close this thing out tomorrow or Wednesday. What's the approach? I know the last year you weren't with this team, but they weren't able to do it in Chicago. What's the mindset going into this game?

DUSTIN MAY: For me personally, I'm just going to go in and try to attack each pitch as each situation. I don't want to look too far forward. I'm going to try to stay in my little three-foot world on the mound and try to go out and execute and do best as I can.

Q. Not often anymore you get to see one team four times in one season. I know you've thrown against them pretty differently each of the three times. How do you balance that going in, how much they've seen of you this year versus just knowing that you've had the success that you've had kind of doing it different ways?

DUSTIN MAY: I'm going to go in with the best attack plan that I kind of have scouting these guys and seeing what they've been doing recently. I'm just going to come in and try and do what they're not. Excited for the opportunity and ready to go.

Q. Can you take us back to yesterday? What was your experience at the end of that game? What moment or little thing or big thing are you going to remember about that celebration?

DUSTIN MAY: That's definitely up there with some of the coolest ones that I've been a part of, definitely with Miller on the mound. It's a really crazy environment in Milwaukee as well with the fans. They get really into it. Having that situation with the bases loaded, two outs, down to the last strike, it's definitely an unforgettable moment that's going to be in my brain forever for sure.

Q. Kind of along those lines, if you could put yourself on the other side, what's the challenge of pitching to Jackson right now?

DUSTIN MAY: He's not missing. Especially he's definitely not missing in the moment. He's a very special hitter, very special player, and I'm very lucky to have him on our team.

Q. There's a lot of conversation today about picking up pitches and whether any of that was happening in the ninth. Whether it was or wasn't, how much time and energy do you put into that conversation with your coaches, your teammates, yourself and video to make sure that's not happening? How big a topic is that for any pitcher?

DUSTIN MAY: You try to not stay oblivious to it, but you try to just go out and do your thing. You're really hoping that whenever something like that does come to fruition that somebody will come and say it to you. That way you don't want to go out and be thinking about it in the moment because then you can start thinking about other things.

You try to control your controllables until somebody brings it to your attention, for me personally.

Q. What's the vibe, what's the mood been like in the clubhouse? It seems pretty lighthearted right now.

DUSTIN MAY: Yeah, it's the same as it always is. We're coming to the clubhouse and ready to attack the day and ready to get going. We're all very excited to get the game started tomorrow and hopefully get off on the right track.