D-Backs’ Jordan Montgomery Tosses Five Innings of One-Run Ball in Return From IL
With the July 30th trade deadline less than a week away, the Arizona Diamondbacks saw exactly what they needed from Jordan Montgomery in his return from the injured list.
The 31-year-old lefty – activated off the IL prior to first pitch on Tuesday, with the club optioning Humberto Castellanos to Triple-A Reno – made his first start since June 27th, allowing just one run over five innings against the Kansas City Royals.
Montgomery surrendered three hits and one walk while striking out a pair, throwing 67 pitches (39 strikes) before departing. He retired 11 of his final 13 batters faced across four shutout innings, earning his seventh victory of 2024 thanks to a 6-2 result over the Royals.
Arizona had Montgomery on a pitch count in his return from right knee inflammation, hoping to stretch him out to 65-70 pitches. After achieving that goal, next on the list is hitting the 85-pitch mark, manager Torey Lovullo said.
The 6-foot-6 hurler – signed to a one-year, $25-million contract with a 2025 vesting option – opened the regular season on the IL after joining the club late during spring training.
“I felt comfortable out there and pain-free, and that was nice to be pain-free,” Montgomery told reporters post-game, including The Associated Press. “I think it just messed with my delivery a little bit, where I was yanking everything and I didn’t want to put any pressure on my legs, but I grinded it out and I’m glad to be here now.”
Montgomery’s command was erratic at times, and understandably so, considering he returned without requiring a rehab assignment. But despite going nearly a month between starts, he found a way to shake off early signs of rust to deliver a much-needed quality performance.
One key reason behind that was the success of his changeup, which he used almost 30 percent of the time versus Kansas City, inducing four whiffs on 13 swings.
“It got me through the game,” Montgomery said. “I was a little wild with everything else. My four-seam and my changeup really got me through, got me some swing-and-miss when I needed it.”
Lovullo echoed that sentiment regarding Montgomery’s changeup after the contest, outlining its effectiveness once he settled in following the opening frame.
“His changeup was in play, and that’s a very key pitch for him,” Lovullo said. “The first go-round before he got banged up, it was a pitch he was leaving out over the plate. The pitch was very, very effective and he had a lot of confidence in it.”
This was a critical first step for Montgomery, who struggled mightily prior to hitting the IL for the second time this season, pitching to a 6.44 ERA and 4.40 FIP over his first 13 starts. He was tagged for eight runs (seven earned) on 10 hits over 2.2 innings in his last start on June 27th.
Now healthy, the D-Backs hope he’ll begin to resemble the pitcher they faced in last fall’s World Series, where he helped lead the Texas Rangers to their first championship title.
Montgomery enjoyed a career year last season, posting a 3.20 ERA and 3.56 FIP with 166 strikeouts in 188.2 innings split between the St. Louis Cardinals and Rangers, accounting for a 4.3 fWAR – all career bests. This season, however, he’s only been worth a 0.6 rating.
Arizona’s injury-riddled starting rotation figures to receive a massive boost in the second half, with Montgomery back in the fold and Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez scheduled for early August returns – which will act like three mid-season trade acquisitions.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Alan Stark. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.