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Ping Stone. St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery, traded from New York Yankees to Red Jays in August, continued R2C2 podcasts and explains the difficulty of pitching for the Yankees.
R2C2 @R2C2 We gotta get @GumbyNation34 ‘s raw reaction to the Yankees trade and how his fastball led to the Cardinals’ early domination. Full episode live! 📺🎧 pic.twitter.com/0a4lt9d4gc
“I’m always worried about being booed by New York’s mound,” Montgomery told former Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia and broadcaster Ryan Ruocco, according to New York Post .
“The pinstripes are heavy. Not everyone can handle it. I think I handled it well. I could have done better, but I guess there’s a lot to do. But in Here [in St. Louis], I’m just being myself and pitching the way I want. I guess the fans have embraced me so far.”
Montgomery flourished in St. Louis, going 5-0 with a 1.45 ERA and 0.90 WHIP in seven starts.
His appearances included a one-hit against the Chicago Cubs and a five-inning 1-0 win over his old team . Montgomery has allowed just one point or less in six of seven games.
The southpaw who played at USC may have turned into a true All-Star in St. Louis. However, he’s excelled in the pinstripes, going 22-20 with a 3.94 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in five-plus seasons. Montgomery had a Yankees ERA of 3.69 and a WHIP of 1.10 this year before being transferred to the Cardinals, The trade sends outfielder Harrison Budd to New York.
Still, Montgomery has improved a lot in St. Louis, and he credits increased confidence in his fastball as the reason one.
“I don’t have much faith in the Yankees heater,” Montgomery said.
“I’ve been told it’s not that good compared to my other pitches, and if I’m going to get hit, it’s Curve or change, that’s not how you can pitch.”
However, facing the batter, to him The renewed confidence in the heater has led to more options, especially the two strikes.
” So if I Guy takes two strikes and he may automatically act because I’m going to throw a curveball or change. He’s just trying to foul a substitution or see a curveball down. I hit my fastball with two hits Number throw, I’m throwing anything at any number right now, so it’s definitely open.”
New York’s loss was ultimately a gain for St. Louis, as the Cardinals went 7-0 in Montgomery’s start. Thanks in part to his efforts, the 83-58 NL Central leads the second-ranked Milwaukee Brewers by eight games.
The Cardinals appear to be well-positioned to lead with Triple Crown candidate Paul Goldschmidt A strong lineup, a rotation pushed by Montgomery, Adam Wainwright and Miles Mikolaas, and a bullpen closer to Ryan Hurseley’s backing have been successful in the playoffs. Montgomery’s next turn on the hill will host Milwaukee on Tuesday.
