Pirates Southpaw Quietly Putting Up Great Season

This allowed the Pirates to eventually bring in their starter later on, with right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski throwing six scoreless innings in the 2-0 win over the Nationals and then fellow right-hander in rookie Wilber Dotel throwing four perfect innings in what ended up a 4-2 loss to the Cardinals.

It's a different role for Montgomery, who normally relieves a starter and hadn't had a start in the major leagues before pitching for the Pirates this season.

While there's a change, Montgomery was starter in the minor leagues and relishes any opportunity that he can pitch in Pittsburgh.

"I mean, I like it," Montgomery said postgame. "I think I like it just the same as getting in there in the sixth, seventh or eighth inning, but yeah, it's good. It's important for me to be able to do my job and I'm happy with being able to successfully do that."

What Pirates Have Got Out of Montgomery

The Pirates added Montgomery in their trade with the Tampa Bay Rays back on Dec. 19, which also landed them second baseman Brandon Lowe and outfielder Jake Mangum.

Montgomery has pitched impressively all season, with a 2.70 ERA over 17 appearances and three starts and 16.2 innings pitched, with 26 strikeouts to eight walks, a .206 batting average allowed (BAA) and a 1.26 WHIP.

He struggled a bit to start the season, with five earned runs over five innings, but has since thrown 12 scoreless outings and not given up a run since April 5.

One of the things that Montgomery has said that has kept him focused throughout this is making sure he's sticking to his original plan and not changing things up too much, even if things don't go well.

“I think staying consistent in my plan, regardless of results," Montgomery said to Pittsburgh Pirates On SI. "I think there’s times where I might’ve given up a run or two early on and I maybe used a pitch that I threw that I wouldn’t change, so I think that’s part of it and I also just think being better about controlling the zone early and then just being able to put guys away when I get to two strikes and not giving up a meatball.”

An Impressive Pitch Mix Aids Montgomery

The Pirates added Montgomery not just as a long-term solution for a southpaw in the bullpen, but because of the stuff his pitches had and the potential for improvement.

Montgomery throws a four-seam fastball that averages 98.5 mph, has a .200 BAA and 15 strikeouts with a 30.2% whiff rate.

He also brings his slider, which no batter has gotten a hit on this season and has a 45% whiff rate on.

Kelly has loved what he's seen from Montgomery so far and sees him getting better by just throwing pitches in the strike zone, which has worked for his southpaws so far.

"I think just throwing strikes," Kelly said pregame on May 13. "We know he's got elite stuff, the elite fastball and the slider has been really good. Just getting it in the zone. It's a unique delivery and armslot. When you throw the 98-100 on top of it with the slider, it's pretty electric."

Montgomery has maintained the same arm slot and delivery, with Pirates pitching coach Bill Murphy not making any tweaks and keeping it the same.

He did add a curveball this season, which is his secondary pitch to his fastball in 2026 and despite a .364 BAA, has an expected BAA of .248 and is improving with it in recet games.

“Yeah it’s been good. I think the curveball, obviously, I think it’s probably more used than my slider right now," Montgomery said. "So yeah, it’s been great, it’s been working. We’re gonna keep throwing it and happy with where it’s at right now.”