Jordan Montgomery makes D-backs debut in blowout win

SAN FRANCISCO — So much for the notion that Jordan Montgomery might be rusty or need to get a few outings under his belt before pitching well.

The left-hander, who signed a one-year deal with Arizona one day after the season opened, allowed just one run over six innings in his 2024 debut as the D-backs pounded the Giants, 17-1, on Friday night at Oracle Park.

“I know that he’s been aching to be with us,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “All the things that he had to do to get here and probably the nervous energy about having his first start on April 19, he managed it as good as you possibly could have hoped. He was executing pitches, attacking the zone.”

Montgomery pitched against the D-backs in last year’s World Series as a member of the Rangers and was expected to sign a long-term free-agent contract this offseason. Instead, he went unsigned until he inked a one-year deal in March with a vesting player option for 2025.

After he signed his deal, Montgomery threw a simulated game at the team’s Spring Training complex before making two starts for Triple-A Reno. His results were less than stellar as he allowed nine earned runs across 7 2/3 innings (10.57 ERA).

Given those numbers, as well as the fact that fellow lefty Blake Snell had also signed late and struggled early for the Giants, there were some that had trepidation about how Montgomery’s first start would go.

They needn’t have worried as he carved up the Giants’ lineup, holding them to four hits and striking out three, the only run off him coming when Jorge Soler led off the fourth with his fourth homer of the year.

The D-backs toyed with the idea of sending him back out to start the seventh, but with a 9-1 lead at that point, Lovullo decided that pushing Montgomery further wasn’t worth it.

Montgomery said he had no concerns about how he would fare because there simply is no comparison between pitching in the Minor Leagues on a rehab stint and pitching in a Major League game.

“It is what it is in the Minor Leagues,” Montgomery said. “You go out there and don’t really have any competitive juices flowing. Of course, I’m competing but I’m also trying to throw more fastballs and work on glove-side fastballs and mixing in some sliders, which I didn’t even throw any tonight, so it’s just totally different. Different sequences, different counts and guys are just swinging sometimes, you never know. Really, you just try and get your pitches in and get out of there healthy and get where it matters.”

Putting the results aside during his time in Reno, Montgomery felt confident because the shape of his pitches were good. His velocity might have been down a bit (Montgomery averaged 91.6 mph on his four-seam fastball after averaging 93.3 mph last year), but velocity is often down early in spring.

“Pretty good changeup, pretty good curveball,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “He pitched in. Sinker, cutter, curveball, changeup. I’m not sure we had our best at-bats today, but give him credit. Gave them six innings, only four hits, didn’t walk anybody. He was throwing it where he wanted to.”

Coincidentally, Montgomery faced off against Snell, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner who also signed much later than expected. While Montgomery was crisp, Snell allowed five runs on nine hits over 4 2/3 innings to raise his season ERA to 11.57.

The offense had even more in store once Snell exited the ballgame, scoring four runs in the seventh and six runs in the eighth to blow the game open. Arizona’s 22 hits tied the franchise record for most in a single game (Aug. 24, 2023 vs. the Phillies).

“Good game by him,” Snell said. “Tough to do. Good job to him. Look forward to the battles that we’ll have.”

When he returned to the clubhouse after completing a postgame TV interview, Montgomery was greeted by his teammates who cheered him and presented him with the red victory vest that is given out to the player of the game.

“I’m glad I can make a good first impression,” Montgomery said. “Being around these guys even for three days, they’re incredible. They made me feel welcome. So a lot of comfort here and I’m excited to just kind of get deeper relationships with them.”