Montgomery to make D-Backs debut Friday vs. Giants
Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Jordan Montgomery will make his first start for the team on Friday against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters, according to Jesse Friedman of PHNX Sports.
Montgomery has been ramping up for his D-Backs debut in the minors since joining the team on a one-year, $25-million deal on March 29. In two starts for Triple-A Reno, he allowed nine earned runs and two homers in 7.2 innings while striking out nine and walking five.
Lovullo chalked up the poor Triple-A numbers to Montgomery focusing on getting a feel for his fastball in his most recent start, according to Arizona Sports.
The 31-year-old will be a welcomed addition to an Arizona rotation that's been missing its other big offseason acquisition, Eduardo Rodriguez, since Opening Day. Rodriguez, who hasn't pitched in a game since suffering a lat strain early in spring training, was moved to the 60-day injured list Wednesday.
Montgomery helped the Texas Rangers beat the D-Backs in last year's World Series after Texas acquired him from the St. Louis Cardinals at the trade deadline. Despite his playoff performance, he was one of several notable clients of agent Scott Boras who had to wait until very late in spring training to find a job. Montgomery has since dropped Boras as his representative.
In 32 regular-season starts last year split between the Cardinals and Rangers, Montgomery posted a 3.20 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 166 strikeouts.