TORONTO — Jordan Montgomery spent the better part of last season and early this season pitching well without much run support from his teammates.
The Yankees are making up for it in a hurry.
The way he is pitching, Montgomery hasn’t needed most of the runs the Yankees have been scoring for him lately, but he wasn’t complaining after a 12-3 win over the Blue Jays on Friday night at Rogers Centre.
“I wouldn’t say I ever get used to it, but I love it,” Montgomery said with a chuckle.
The left-hander did his part, limiting a potent Blue Jays lineup to two runs on three hits and a walk over six strong innings while striking out five. And even after he briefly lost control in the second inning to allow the Blue Jays to take a 1-0 lead, his offense had his back to allow him to breathe a little easier late in his outing.
The Yankees scored more than six runs for Montgomery just four times in his 30 starts during 2021, but they have eclipsed that mark four times in his past five starts.
Jordan MontgomeryUSA TODAY Sports “Just get out there and get back as fast as I can so they can keep hitting,” Montgomery said.
After his latest strong outing, Montgomery now has a 2.72 ERA through 13 starts. He has been especially effective over his past five starts, going six innings or more in each of them and not allowing more than two runs.
“I’m starting to get really comfortable moving on the mound,” Montgomery said. “Able to consistently throw two-seamers down and away, especially even in fastball counts, throwing two-seamers aggressively and getting ground balls and letting the defense work.”
Montgomery hit Alejandro Kirk with a pitch to lead off the second inning, then walked Teoscar Hernandez on four pitches. But he retired the next two batters, and even after giving up an RBI single to Gabriel Moreno, he went on cruise control from there. The only other blemish on his night was a solo homer by Kirk in the sixth.
“Just more of the same, really,” manager Aaron Boone said. “His mix is really good right now. Maybe didn’t lean on the breaking ball as much, more changeup-cutter-sinker tonight. But everything was really good. That’s a tough lineup for him to go through with all those really good
