The Boston Red Sox needed a good start from Dustin May on Tuesday night in the worst way.

Quietly, the Red Sox had lost four of five games coming off their seven-game winning streak. After ace Garrett Crochet got lit up on Monday, Boston was sending May and Walker Buehler, their two most iffy starters, to the hill for the final two games of the series.

Fortunately, May came to play. After only lasting 3 2/3 innings and picking up the loss in his Red Sox debut last week, the right-hander hurled 6 shutout frames, racking up eight strikeouts and lowering his season ERA to 4.67.

Aug 12, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Dustin May (85) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Red Sox caught plenty of heat for the May trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers, which saw them give up outfield prospects James Tibbs III and Zach Erhard. Tibbs was one of the main pieces of the Rafael Devers trade, so flipping him for May, who will be a free agent at the end of the year, was a bit of a tough sell.

However, the prospect price won’t matter if May keeps dealing. And it was clear, in the wake of his fisrt win, that the righty has high hopes for the rest of his season.

“It was great,” said May, per Steve Schaeffer of MLB.com. “I didn’t really have a great first one, but to be able to come back and have a good one like this against a really good team, it was huge. Today was definitely one of my better days on the year. Hopefully, (I’ll) be able to stack it and keep the snowball going.”

Manager Alex Cora was thoroughly impressed by his starter’s evening. And he thought the outing showed that the Red Sox got a good one in their highly-criticized deal.

“Very quiet. Works hard. Wants to win,” Cora said of May, per Schaeffer. “Exactly what (Dodgers manager) Dave Roberts told me — that this guy is a competitor.”

Lastly, starting catcher Carlos Narváez, who hit a huge three-run home run in the top of the sixth to support May, was dreaming of catching the right-hander in October.

“May was amazing,” Narváez said, per Schaeffer. “We’re gonna need that guy, especially in the late stretch. I love his emotion. I can’t wait to see him in the postseason.”

May might only have seven or eight starts left in a Red Sox uniform, so hopefully, he makes them count.