Jordan Montgomery had to wait nearly three years to launch in front of fans at Yankee Stadium again, far beyond what he and his teammates went through during the 2020 campaign affected by COVID.
Montgomery reminded fans in the Bronx of the excellent start to his career before Tommy John’s surgery in 2018, hurling six shutout innings in the Yankees’ 7-0 win on Monday night over Baltimore.
The 28-year-old southpaw spread four singles and walked none while eliminating seven before Aaron Boone replaced him with Luis Cessa with a seven-race lead to start the seventh. Cessa and Aroldis Chapman completed the shutout of four strokes, matching for the final nine eliminated.
“Warming up, I could hear [the fans], but as soon as I left, I kind of blocked it and got zoned, ”said Montgomery. “I just attacked the hitters with four different shots. I was in the [strike] zone a lot and I was able to expand when I needed to. “
Montgomery, who was supported by a solo home run by Aaron Judge and a grand slam by Giancarlo Stanton, has been sharp and efficient during his first home game with fans in attendance (though only 9,008) since April 26, 2018, against Minnesota.
He injured his elbow on his next outing in Houston and underwent Tommy John surgery in June, before returning for two road shows (a start) in late September 2019.
Mongtomery also suffered an unstable first full season after surgery last year, finishing 3-2 with an ERA of 5.11 in 10 matches. He also debuted at the ALDS against Tampa Bay, working four entries from a ball race in the Yankees’ game 4 victory.
The South Carolina product was particularly sharp on Monday night with its shift and curved ball, registering five of its seven eliminations in those two shots. In all, he threw 55 of his 73 pitches for attacks.
The Orioles only had one runner to reach third base against Montgomery, but he pulled Ryan McKenna into a short grounder with corner runners for the third eliminated.
“I hit the area. I think I looked up at one point and he had 40 hits and 13 balls, ”said Boone. “We old and broken baseball players, on the side, I watch the guys and think how I could have done against him.
“Monty for me is the type of guy that I wouldn’t want to face. I just feel that when he’s controlling the attack zone, you get a lot out of it tonight. “