Yankees pitcher Jordan Montgomery fell to the ground on Sunday night after a Boston batter smashed a ball back to the mound in the first inning, and hit the left-hander in the leg — leaving fans in the Bronx hushed as they awaited his status.
Yet, the 29-year-old Montgomery got up and continued his start, pitching the remainder of the inning, along with another 2.
It was a scary moment during the Yanks’ 4–3 loss to their rival, but Montgomery says, despite swelling in his knee, he plans to play his next scheduled start later this week.
“It’s gonna be a little swollen,” the pitcher said. “But I’ll be ready in five days.”
Jordan Montgomery looks to be in serious pain after getting hit by the ball pic.twitter.com/E1lVzHakqb
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 10, 2022
The shot up the middle from Xander Bogaerts reached over 100 mph, and caused Montgomery to lay on the grass next to the mound, while grasping his head and wincing in pain.
After the game, in which he gave up 4 hits and 3 earned runs, Montgomery underwent X-rays on his left leg, which came back negative, according to Yankee Manager Aaron Boone.
“Obviously to see him rolling around like that in pain was certainly concerning — and a pretty gutsy effort to shake it off,” Boone said.
“It was in a weird spot and it caught me right on the bone,” Montgomery said.
Fellow Yankee Clarke Schmidt, a preseason-standout, immediately began warming up in the bullpen after the incident, anticipating that Montgomery may exit the game, but later said that he had “little doubt” that his teammate would remain.
“He’s a competitor. He’s been doing this for a while, so I had little doubt — I was throwing, but it wasn’t like I was throwing with a ton of intent,” Schmidt told reporters after the game. “I had a feeling that he was going to go back out there, which he did.”
The team ultimately lost the game, largely due to stranding multiple runners on base, including twice with bases loaded.
The team finished with 11 hits, compared to the Red Sox’s 5, but they couldn’t string together enough hits in a row to pull out the victory and secure the sweep to start the season.
[READ ALSO: Yankees fall to Red Sox 3–4 as Jordan Montgomery starts]
Still, the news that Montgomery will not miss time will serve as significant comfort for the Bronx Bombers, who need all the pitching help they can get.
