Jordan Montgomery pitched six strong innings on Tuesday to help the New York Yankees beat the Braves and win the first game of a nine game homestead. The 27-year-old southpaw had a nice bounce back outing after some struggles last time out against Philadelphia.
Montgomery gave up four hits and three runs in six innings, striking out four. The first five innings were scoreless for the lefty before giving up three runs in the sixth inning. Travis d’Arnaud and Freddie Freeman each singled, then Marcell Ozuna followed with a three-run home run.
Throughout the evening, Montgomery sat in the the low 90s with his fastball. He’s never been known for his velocity as he’s always gotten by just by having good stuff. Although he’s pitching some good games now, an increase to his velocity in the near future would help him with his consistency. The best pitchers nowadays throw in the upper-90s in addition to having great stuff.
A slower fastball gives the batter more time to react to the pitch and to determine what the pitch is. More reaction time for the batter leads to worse results for the pitcher.
But right now, the Yankees seem to be pretty happy with Montgomery. He’s healthy and doing a good job filling the place of Luis Severino and Domingo German. All they need now is a little more length from not just Montgomery, but all their starters. In a short season with a lot of games in a short period of time, the less stress on the bullpen the better. The last thing the Yankees want to do is burnout their bullpen early on.
Hopefully Jordan Montgomery will build on Tuesday’s strong outing and be sharp again the next time he pitches.