The Diamondbacks signed Jordan Montgomery to add some stability to the rotation. Due to his late start, it’s been a bumpy ride for the veteran left-hander. However, in a must-win game against the Chicago White Sox, he pitched his best five innings of the season. Montgomery allowed just four hits, walked two, and struck out a season-high seven strikeouts, holding down a Chicago lineup that scored nine runs the night before while the offense lit up rookie right-hander Drew Thorpe.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“Jordan Montgomery was on the attack,” said Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo on the postgame television broadcast. “I felt like he had good finish to his pitches, good life in the zone.”
He was able to command the ball with four different pitches, generating a season-high 18 swings and misses. 10 of those 18 whiffs came on changeups, a pitch whose effectiveness has eluded Montgomery this season. Four of his seven strikeouts came on that changeup, a pitch that opponents were hitting .353 with a .794 slugging percentage against entering the game. The White Sox were 0-for-5 with four strikeouts. It will be an important pitch for him to master as he pitches into his 30s, to help compensate for when his velocity continues to decline.
Montgomery’s 6.00 ERA on the season is a bit unsightly, but it doesn’t completely tell the story of how his performance season has been. Three of his 11 starts account for over half of his runs allowed on the season, with 20 runs allowed in nine combined innings. With only 57 innings to his name for the season, it will take some time for that number to come down. He has pitched well enough for the Diamondbacks to win in eight of his 11 starts, or 73%. There are some concerns about his ability to prevent runs, as he has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 39-21.
The Diamondbacks will need Montgomery to continue to deliver starts like this one, with a lot of uncertainty with two of their starting five rotation spots. Brandon Pfaadt has taken the next step as a starter, already providing consistent length in his second season in the big leagues, but lacks the experience to carry the rotation. Ryne Nelson has put together some decent starts of late, pitching six innings in three of his last four starts. Continued signs of improvement from Montgomery, Nelson, and Pfaadt will be critical for the Diamondbacks to stay in a hotly-contested Wild Card race.
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
