Jordan Montgomery made his full-fledged return on Friday night, leading the New York Yankees to a 5-1 win over the Boston Red Sox.
- Boston Red Sox 1 (3-5)
- New York Yankees 5 (5-1)
- American League, Final, Box Score
- Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Jordan Montgomery’s 2020 debut came on the biggest regular-season stage there is—the first game between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.
And Montgomery delivered.
In his first meaningful action since undergoing Tommy John surgery (he pitched four innings in 2019), Montgomery tossed 5.2 strong innings of one-run ball. He allowed five hits and one walk while fanning four.
https://twitter.com/BarnHasSpoken/status/1289365905164599296?s=20
Obviously, Montgomery showed some decent velocity and his trademark curveball. More impressively, however, he flashed a really effective changeup.
Adding a reliable changeup to his repertoire can only make him a more effective pitcher. It gives him another pitch he can use to induce soft contact
The long ball ruled the offense as per usual. Aaron Judge opened the Yankees scoring in the third inning with a wall-scraping homer to right-center.
Aaron Judge does his thing in the field AND at the dish! He can't be stopped right now! pic.twitter.com/3A8rHKGnoz
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 1, 2020
Gio Urshela tacked on another one with a solo shot in the fourth.
Gio Urshela goes oppo for his first home run of the year. What a happy fella https://t.co/GZCVHmduK9
— Bronx Bomber Ball (@BronxBomberBall) August 1, 2020
And Brett Gardner delivered the knockout blow in the eighth with a two-run shot to give the Yankees a four-run lead.
Brett Gardner tacks on insurance runs for the @Yankees in the bottom of the 8th with this 2-run homer! #MLBNShowcase pic.twitter.com/aPjPtCwA0W
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) August 1, 2020
#GARDYPARTY #1 AHHHHH WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR SO LONG ❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/FWNbDNo9sr
— Allison Case (@ThatNYYChick) August 1, 2020
With Montgomery’s strong outing and the usual power the Yankees offense plays with, this was a comfortable win over their most hated rival.
The Yankees aim to lockdown a series win on Saturday night with Masahiro Tanaka making his 2020 debut.
There’s a pretty good chance Montgomery and Tanaka set the Yankees up for a weekend sweep. Here’s hoping they can bury the Red Sox in the standings early during this sprint season.
