In his much-anticipated debut for the Diamondbacks, southpaw Jordan Montgomery will hit the mound on Friday night at Oracle Park, squaring off against Giants lefty Blake Snell, whose journey to the offseason mirrors Montgomery's own.
The Diamondbacks are crossing their fingers that Montgomery doesn't follow Snell's path. Both pitchers inked deals late in spring training, with Montgomery missing out on camp entirely and Snell only catching a glimpse of it. So far, Snell's been struggling. He's given up a hefty 10 runs in just seven innings across two starts. Reflecting on his performance, Snell admitted to feeling a bit off due to the unusual spring training setup. But he's determined to bounce back. “I mean, that’s probably why the location is bad,” Snell remarked, as reported by MLB.com. “But I just need to get better. No excuses. I can’t use the spring thing anymore. Once I start locating the ball better, I’ll get better results.”
As for Montgomery, the jury's still out on whether he'll face similar challenges. His recent outings in Triple-A Reno didn't exactly set the world on fire. After giving up a couple of runs in four innings on April 7, he got tagged for seven runs in just 3 2/3 innings last Saturday.
Manager Torey Lovullo understands the uphill battle Montgomery might be facing, having seen similar struggles with players like Stephen Drew in the past. Lovullo emphasized the difficulty of playing catch-up without a proper spring training. But he's optimistic about Montgomery's readiness. “It’s just hard,” Lovullo admitted. “You play catch-up. Your mind doesn’t work right... and it probably takes a little more time than you think. I can tell you based on what I’ve heard, that Jordan worked really hard on his own... I think he’ll be ready.”
The Diamondbacks had to shuffle their roster to accommodate Montgomery's arrival. Right-hander Ryne Nelson landed on the 15-day injured list due to a right elbow contusion, opening up a spot for Montgomery. Although X-rays showed no fractures, Nelson's elbow was still stiff and sore post-game.
With Nelson out, the Diamondbacks have a rotation gap to fill. Left-hander Logan Allen is one potential candidate after a solid performance filling in for Nelson. Lovullo and pitching coach Brent Strom are keeping their options open, considering all possibilities for the rotation shake-up. “He did a great job,” Lovullo praised Allen. “Of course (he is an option). I think anything is on the table right now.”
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