ARLINGTON, Texas — It was hard to tell by the scarcity of fans in the stands that this was a playoff game. A defining part of postseason baseball, after all, are the crowds. But fewer than 20,000 people showed up to Tropicana Field on Oct. 3 to watch the Tampa Bay Rays take on the Texas Rangers in a wild-card series opener.
None of that mattered to Jordan Montgomery. He didn’t need the fuel or the hoopla, the added noise and extra fanfare, to meet the moment. Texas’ veteran hurler understood the assignment just as well.
“He doesn’t really show emotion,” teammate Nathaniel Lowe told FOX Sports. “He’s just like this pasty, big left-hander out there with a clean face and just throwing another sinker.”
That Montgomery would get the ball for Game 1 was no surprise. After being traded by the going-nowhere Cardinals in July, he’d been Bruce Bochy’s best pitcher for the better part of two months. But what he did in the second inning versus the Rays was a revelation for his new team.
The Rangers held a one-run lead and the Rays had runners on the corners versus Montgomery. It was the left-hander’s first high-pressure situation of the postseason. No. 8 hitter Jose Siri bunted for a popup that traveled just 48 feet down the first-base line. Instantly, Montgomery looked up and followed the ball. He hustled to the line, extended his glove hand, went down awkwardly on his front side in the dirt and completed the diving catch. Montgomery said it was a play he hadn’t made since he was 12 years old.
“Wow,” beamed Lowe, the first baseman just inches from Montgomery as the catch was made.
It was a shock. A complete stunner. Teammates said Montgomery’s spectacular play made it feel like time had stopped. Here was this hefty 6-foot-6 southpaw laying out to save a run from scoring and ultimately helping stifle the Rays in the series. Nothing about the play was graceful. But that wasn’t the point. Montgomery found a way, and he got it done.
That was the moment Marcus Semien understood how competitive Montgomery, who had just joined the team two months prior, could be. That was the moment Semien knew just how badly Montgomery wanted the Rangers to prevail. It was also a play that galvanized the Rangers into action. His teammates said Montgomery’s all-in attitude was inspiring.
“OK, this guy is for real,” Semien remembered thinking. “He wants it.”
That effort, and the clutch October starts that followed, were exactly what Rangers general manager Chris Young envisioned when dealing for Montgomery. The 30-year-old lefty has been, in fact, among the most important pieces in Texas’ run through the American League. He’s started a pair of Game 1s, won three of his four starts (he took a no-decision in the other) and tossed 2.1 invaluable innings of relief in Game 7 of the ALCS against the Astros.
On Saturday, Montgomery will start Game 2 of the World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks (8: 03 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app), as the Rangers look to build off Friday’s stunning comeback victory at Globe Life Field.
“It’s been great to show what I’m worth. You can’t do it unless you get the opportunity,” Montgomery told FOX Sports of being a big-game starter for Texas. “I’ve always thrown in big games my entire life. From high school, to college, to minor leagues. Threw in the Triple-A national championship, I was the starter for that. Threw elimination games in college. I threw the state championship in high school. So, I just needed the opportunity.”
He did have one with the Yankees, but it proved to be fleeting.
In 2014, Montgomery was drafted by New York out of South Carolina University. Three years later, he became a mainstay in the Yankees’ rotation, pitching alongside CC Sabathia, Masahiro Tanaka, Luis Severino, Sonny Gray and Michael Pineda. Montgomery went 9-7 and posted a 3.88 ERA across 155.1 innings and 29 starts, placing sixth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2017.
These were the Yankees, so Montgomery was used to being the lowest starter on the totem pole. As reliable and beloved arms like Sabathia and Tanaka moved on, perennial Cy Young contender Gerrit Cole joined the organization. It was understandable for Montgomery’s magic to get lost, buried behind the limelight of other star pitchers. But none of that mattered to him. He initially forged a close bond with Sabathia and later became a dear friend of Cole’s, all while finding a way to get it done on the mound.
“Well, he’s not Gerrit Cole,” Lowe told FOX Sports. “He’s not Domingo German. He’s not Luis Severino. He’s Jordan Montgomery. All those guys, they have a certain hype about them. But, I thought he was better on the mound. There was less noise. He’s not having trouble with certain things that other guys were having trouble with in that rotation. He just shows up and he pitches.”
Rangers beat Rays behind Jordan Montgomery’s stellar start
Despite Montgomery’s high school and college reputation as a big-game pitcher, the Yankees didn’t ultimately see him that way. Montgomery made one playoff start in the 2020 ALDS — he went four innings and allowed one run — one day before the club was eliminated. (He did not pitch in the following postseason because the Yankees were eliminated in a one-game wild-card round.) With the 2022 Yankees seemingly primed for a deep playoff run, Brian Cashman and team brass traded Montgomery to St. Louis at the deadline in part because they believed he wouldn’t be a factor for them in the postseason.
While the Yankees could not have been more wrong about how Montgomery would fare under the October spotlight, the lefty understands why he didn’t get that opportunity ahead of certain other pitchers during his tenure in New York.
“I’ve got no bad blood,” Montgomery said. “The Yankees drafted me. Gave me seven good years of being in the big leagues. I’ve got a lot of really good relationships still over there. I got nothing but respect for ‘em.”
In Texas, Montgomery is happy to be reunited with pitching coach Mike Maddux, who worked in the same capacity in St. Louis when Montgomery arrived there last year. Maddux praises Montgomery for his ability to change speeds and his high release point, adding that the southpaw’s downhill angle makes it seem like “he’s throwing right down a cliff at you.” The longtime pitching coach said that Montgomery has improved his game-planning over the past year to the point that it is now one of his many strengths on the mound. His work has also impressed teammate Max Scherzer.
“He knows how to pitch,” Scherzer said. “Kind of throw all the metrics out the window, it goes back to the basics. He knows how to locate, how to change speeds, all the stuff that we used to talk about. He excels at that. I feel like that’s why we’re seeing him pitch his best games right now out here in the playoffs.”
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It’s a small sample size, of course, but even including his two months in the regular season with the Rangers, Montgomery has never been better at preventing runs. While his strikeout rate is a tick lower than his days in New York, he’s surrendering notably fewer walks and home runs. Thus far, all the balls in play are not hurting him, which is at least partially a nod to Texas’ great defense. Montgomery sees several factors making him more effective.
“I think my stuff is better,” Montgomery said. “I think my delivery is more clean. I think I’m throwing with more conviction. Executing way more. I’m stronger. I think I’m heavier. Everything goes into it.”
Montgomery’s growing confidence can’t be discounted in the equation.
“Jordan has come face to face that he’s a pretty darn good pitcher,” Maddux said “And no stage is too big for him because they’re all equal. He treats every game the same. He treats every inning the same. He treats every at-bat the same. That’s what I like about Jordan.”
Montgomery has been that way for years. Current teammates commend his poise and professionalism, which they attribute to his time in the Yankees’ system. But Montgomery said he’s been disciplined on the mound since he was an amateur, when coaches urged him not to give anything away, emotionally, in a start. That hasn’t changed this postseason, even as the stakes have risen. But it has been cool for him to hear from several of his former colleagues with the Yankees during the playoffs. Since that tumbling diving catch against the Rays, Montgomery said he’s received messages of support from Cole, Aaron Judge, Aaron Boone, Michael King, Clarke Schmidt, Kyle Higashioka, Larry Rothschild and Mike Harkey, to name a few.
“Jordan was kind of flying under the radar with the Cardinals,” Semien told FOX Sports. “I hadn’t seen much of him this year just being in the American League. And then when we got him, I said, ‘Oh yeah, he’s the same guy I remember from the Yankees.’ He’s a tough at-bat. I didn’t realize just the killer instinct he has and the hunger he has for a World Series. It’s been so good for us.”
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The Rangers can only hope to keep him. Montgomery will become a free agent the day after the final out of the World Series. While the Maddux-Montgomery partnership has only blossomed in Arlington, New York could also be interested in a reunion given its need for more dependable arms. Several teams figure to at least check in on the Scott Boras client.
For now, Montgomery’s trying not to think about free agency. When asked about his impending payday, he laughed and said, “We’ll see.”
He has a much larger dilemma to tackle first: shutting down the Diamondbacks and help deliver the Rangers their first championship in franchise history. Thus far, Montgomery has continually excelled in these moments. He has found a way, and got it done. So, why should the biggest start of his career be any different?
“Right now,” Lowe said, “he’s Playoff Monty.”
Soon, he might be championship Monty.
Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
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