BOSTON — Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake is happy Jordan Montgomery is pitching as well as he is for the Cardinals, but he believes the conversation surrounding the left-hander’s better numbers since he was traded St. Louis isn’t entirely accurate.
Montgomery has spoken publicly about being able to throw his four-seam fastball more with the Cardinals than he was allowed to with the Yankees. He most recently told CC Sabathia and Ryan Ruocco on their “R2C2” podcast: “I didn’t really have much faith in my heater at the Yankees. I had been told that it wasn’t that good compared to my other pitches and if I was gonna get hit, it was gonna be on a curveball or changeup, which isn’t how you can pitch.”
Since Montgomery has increased his usage of that pitch, the results have followed.
That was before Montgomery had his worst start since joining the Cardinals in an 8-4 loss to the Brewers in which he allowed allowed six runs, four earned, in five innings. But in his seven previous starts with St. Louis, Montgomery had a 1.45 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP over 43 ¹/₃ innings after putting up a 3.69 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 21 starts and 114 ²/₃ innings with the Yankees.
Matt Blake and Jordan MontgomeryN.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg; AP“Sometimes it’s dependent on who you’re facing and some teams handle four-seam [fastballs] better,’’ Blake told The Post on Tuesday before the Yankees’ 7-6, 10-inning win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Blake pointed to the fact the Yankees have gotten pitchers to become more effective by focusing on one or two pitches — notably Clay Holmes with his sinker, in addition to refining the repertoires of Wandy Peralta and Lou Trivino.
“We’re gonna tell you to throw the pitches that are having the most success most of the time,’’ Blake said. “There’s also a component of, ‘I’ll show them.’ He’s disappointed with how things ended here.”
The trade of Montgomery looks worse because Harrison Bader, the player acquired from St. Louis, has been rehabbing from plantar fasciitis since before the deal and has yet to make his Yankees debut.
But Blake doesn’t have any real regrets.
“I don’t think we would change anything about how we used [Montgomery],’’ Blake said. “There’s definitely something to him being convicted to his plan and trusting the four-seamer when he throws it. But if you look at his pitches overall objectively, it’s the least of his pitches. That’s why it’s hard to validate that’s the pitch he should throw more often.”
Montgomery did throw his four-seamer at times and it was occasionally effective, but it was also met with hard contact more than the Yankees were comfortable with.
“It’ll be interesting to see over the long haul how that plan plays out,’’ Blake said. “He’s facing a new division. It’s hard to throw a four-seam against the [heavily right-handed] lineups of Boston, Baltimore and Toronto for anybody, let alone a lefty without a premium four-seamer.”
Montgomery’s turnaround has made Blake think about how he was used in The Bronx, but the pitching coach also added it was a unique situation.
“We don’t usually trade pitchers like this that are performing well for us,’’ Blake said. “He was a solid major league starter. It’s not like we didn’t know he was good. The way he’s using his four-seamer is more than we would advise him to use it. Now, telling him not to throw fastballs is probably a further leap than what we said. … Unfortunately, the narrative is we told him not to throw the fastball and now he’s having success as a major league pitcher because he’s throwing the four-seam more often.”
