Diamondbacks LHP Jordan Montgomery’s relief debut a bright spot in otherwise ugly loss to Mets

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks threw left-hander Jordan Montgomery into the deep end for his first relief appearance since changing roles, and his outing became one of few bright spots in an ugly 8-3 loss to the New York Mets on Tuesday.

The Mets nickel and dimed starter Brandon Pfaadt with six hits in the fifth inning, although he was not helped by a shoddy performance from the typically stellar D-backs defense.

The D-backs moved Montgomery to the bullpen last week to keep Ryne Nelson in the starting rotation.

Montgomery entered with the D-backs trailing 5-0 with two outs and the bases loaded. The lefty admitted to being a bit amped up, having not gone through the process before and he was not able to get out of the jam before more damage was done. He plunked Tyrone Taylor to score a run before walking Jeff McNeil to bring in another.

Another run scored to put the Mets up 8-0 after shortstop Geraldo Perdomo made a fielding error. Montgomery was able to get out of the disastrous six-run fifth inning by striking out Mets star Francisco Lindor.

From there, Montgomery settled in to preserve the rest of the bullpen. In 4.1 innings, Montgomery allowed five hits and zero earned runs, to go along with a walk and two strikeouts. He threw 70 pitches, with 46 of them being strikes.

“I want to help the team any way I can,” Montgomery said. “We’re in a pennant race, and if I can be the long man and maybe turn myself into a leverage arm, get us some big outs and be a difference maker that way, that’s just what I’ll do this year.”

He said his starting routine takes usually close to 40 minutes, so it was a bit strange to kick it into gear so quickly.

“That’s a huge adjustment for somebody who takes 28-32 minutes to get ready for his first pitch, he did in six-and-a-half minutes,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “So it was a great job by him, and I made sure he knew that I was appreciative of what he did.”

Lovullo credited Montgomery for getting in the bullpen and asking questions shortly after finding out he was changing roles. The manager said Montgomery was not happy with the decision but has been professional. Montgomery explained pregame he has put in work with bullpen coach Mike Fetters to make the adjustment.

Getting up to 70 pitches keeps Montgomery stretched out, which Lovullo said was a sweet spot.

“Anything could happen, and I’m going to be paying attention to everybody’s performance. Knock on wood, we’re going to avoid injuries,” Lovullo said. “But this is a competitive game. At this point in time in the year, the best players are going to get the most reps. I want him to continue to do what he did today.”

D-backs manager Torey Lovullo credits Jordan Montgomery for taking his new role in stride. pic.twitter.com/PlSIm7Aimm

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) August 28, 2024

Montgomery had made just one relief appearance during the regular season in his career. After coming off of Tommy John surgery in 2019, he made his lone relief appearance while pitching for the New York Yankees. He also made relief appearances for the St. Louis Cardinals during the postseason in 2022 and for the Texas Rangers during Game 7 of the ALCS against the Houston Astros in 2023.

The 31-year-old signed a $25 million deal after the start of this season with a $22.5 million vesting player option for next year based on his number of starts.

Montgomery, a former Scott Boras client, missed spring training and has struggled this year with an 8-6 record and a 6.44 ERA in 19 starts entering Tuesday.

What happened to Brandon Pfaadt?

Pfaadt explained not having the fastball command he wanted led to more offspeed pitches that were not able to properly work off the heater. He was not crushed with tons of hard contact, but the Mets worked deep counts and put the ball in play to find holes.

“It was one of those outings where we’re missing so many spots that I think those come back to haunt us,” Pfaadt said. “When we’re not able to command the fastball, it’s hard to set those pitches up. I think that’s where we paid today.”

Pfaadt has been arguably Arizona’s most consistent starter this season, but this has been a tough stretch. He has allowed 10 earned runs in 10 innings over his last two games and at least four earned runs in three straight.

Diamondbacks offense cooled

Arizona’s offense showed some late life after mustering one hit through six innings off Mets starter Sean Manaea. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit his 16th home run of the year to lead off the seventh, and Corbin Carroll followed with a two-run shot, his 15th of the season.

The Diamondbacks, however, worked zero walks for the first time since June 23. Pair that with an August-high 13 strikeouts, it was an odd day for the bats. Manaea struck out 10 batters in a dominant first six innings.

Arizona’s offense has gone quiet in its last two games against a left-handed starting pitcher (Tampa Bay’s Jeffrey Springs). It is a matchup where injuries to Ketel Marte, Christian Walker and Gabriel Moreno are most prevalent.

With Montgomery’s extended outing and an off day Monday, the rest of Arizona’s bullpen will be fully gassed up for Wednesday. The pitching matchup is Arizona’s Eduardo Rodriguez against New York right-hander Luis Severino.

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