Jordan Montgomery stays in game after comebacker scare vs Red Sox

Going for a sweep of the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees were hoping to do what they couldn’t over the first two games of the series: start out with a lead. Those hopes didn’t last very long, however, as Jordan Montgomery got roughed up in his first inning of work in 2022.

The Yankees will once again have to come from behind to defeat their foremost rival, but breaking out the brooms quickly became an afterthought amongst fans just three batters into Sunday night’s series finale.

With Rafael Devers on first, Montgomery induced what appeared to be a double-play grounder from Xander Bogaerts. The only problem? The left-hander couldn’t get his glove down in time and the ball ricocheted off his leg.

Montgomery limped off the mound and was down for several minutes. Reluctant to depart his first start of the year due to injury, Montgomery ultimately persuaded Aaron Boone and the training staff to keep him in.

Yankees starter Jordan Montgomery took a comebacker off his leg in the first inning vs the Red Sox on Sunday.

The best way for Montgomery to plead his case beyond the first inning was to get through the frame unscathed. Unfortunately for both the club and player, though, Boston tagged the 29-year-old for two runs on three hits. With Clarke Schmidt up and ready in the bullpen, it seemed likely Monty’s night was finished.

Lo and behold, Montgomery came back out for the top half of the second and didn’t appear to be impeded by the injury. Outside of allowing a walk to Kike Hernandez, the Yankees’ No. 3 starter pitched as if he wasn’t writhing in pain minutes earlier.

With that said, we can’t help but wonder how long of a leash Montgomery will have. On a brisk night in the Bronx, you have to think the wounded leg will stiffen up pretty quickly. If he so much as grimaces after a pitch or fielding a ground ball, the Yankees should exercise caution and remove him from the game.

After all, Monty was a stabilizing presence in the middle of the rotation a season ago. Plagued by poor run support, he finished 6-7 despite over 30 starts posting a 3.83 ERA and 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

In the meantime, it seems as though Montgomery avoided the worst. Given he was unable to put any pressure on his leg after taking the hit, we’ll consider that a win for the Yankees.

Aaron Judge playing on one-year contract could actually motivate Yankees

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge will be playing the 2022 season on a one-year contract. Really not the worst thing in the world when you think about it.