Jordan Montgomery is back and ready to lead D-backs to victory

The Arizona Diamondbacks will take on the vaunted Kansas City Royals in game two of a three-game series. First pitch is at 5:10 p.m. local time in Arizona. The D-backs suffered a heavy 10-4 loss yesterday, but that wasn’t the big story.

After Bobby Witt Jr. doubled, tripled and homered, he was at bat for the fourth time when he was hit by a fastball from Humberto Castellanos, leading to the Royals hitting Gabriel Moreno in the 7th inning and warnings to both benches.

This prompted Manager Torey Lovullo to defend his players and emphatically deny that they had hit Bobby Witt Jr. on purpose. His words can be heard and read here, as he categorically denied all accusations made by Salvador Perez, the Royals or anyone else.

However, if a player is hit by a pitch on either side tonight, don’t be surprised to see the benches empty or more warnings given or even a player ejected.

The Arizona Diamondbacks made a roster move ahead of today’s game. They have removed left-handed starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery from the 15-day Injured List as he recovers from a right knee injury.

Right-handed pitcher Humberto Castellanos is being sent to Triple-A Reno. Castellanos saved the pitching staff yesterday by throwing three innings, allowing four hits and one run with three strikeouts. On the season, through 10.1 innings, he has a 5.23 ERA and a 3.53 FIP.

Starting pitchers

Jordan Montgomery, left-handed pitcher, 6-5, 6.44 ERA, 4.41 FIP, 45 strikeouts in 65.2 innings

To say this isn’t the season the D-backs or Montgomery expected would be an understatement. However, his FIP does indicate Montgomery has been pretty unlucky, as he hasn’t allowed many home runs or walks. He’s allowed just eight home runs and 23 walks.

Still, both numbers are well above his numbers from previous years. His HR/9 is 1.1, the highest since 2021-22. His BB/9 is 3.2, his highest since 2018.

Monty has been great against left-handed hitters this year. It’s the right-handers that have been hitting him hard. Lefties are hitting just .227 with a .572 OPS. Righties are hitting .338 with a whopping .936 OPS.

One positive sign for Montgomery is that he has fared much better on foreign soil than he did with Chase. Through 30 innings, he has a 4.80 ERA. He will need to lower that to give the D-backs a chance to win tonight.

In his career with the Royals, Montgomery had a 5.74 ERA over 15.2 innings and three starts with 16 strikeouts.

It’s fair to wonder how deep Montgomery can pitch in tonight’s game. He threw three innings and 56 pitches in his last sim game. It would be surprising if he threw more than five innings or 75 pitches tonight.

Alec Marsh, RHP, 7-6, ERA of 4.52, FIP of 4.21, 84 strikeouts in 91.2 innings

The ASU product has pitched well in his first two years in the majors. He’s about average for the league this year with a 95+ ERA (100 is league average). He’s given up 13 home runs, but he’s not giving up many with just 28 walks.

Marsh has reverse platoon splits. He has been hit hard by right-handers while neutralizing lefties. Right-handed batters are hitting .262 with an .840 OPS. Meanwhile, lefties have hit just .228 with a .642 OPS.

He has performed much better in Kauffman Stadium than he has overseas, posting a 3.97 ERA over 47.2 innings. He has had a rough July thus far, with two starts and a relief appearance.

In 10 innings, he has given up 11 hits, eight runs, four walks, and struck out 10 batters. He has allowed three home runs in that span.

Marsh throws six pitches, but he relies mostly on using five. They are a four-seam fastball, slider, curveball, sinker and changeup. His four-seamer and changeup are his best pitches. The former is averaging .191, while the changeup is averaging .189.

However, his slider, curveball and sinker are hit hard, measuring .269, .268, .350 respectively. They are also hit hard, .537, .482, .617 respectively. D-backs hitters should pass on his four-seamer and wait for these pitches, as they can be hit hard and long.

Starting positions

Bobby Witt Jr. will attempt to make Royals history by getting three more hits tonight and becoming the only Royals player ever to get three or more hits in five consecutive games. He’s done it in four games already.

Salvador Perez has been hot lately and the D-backs will need to cool him down. The almost all-right-handed lineup will pose quite a challenge for Montgomery.

As for the D-backs, Eugenio Suarez will look to stay warm at the plate, while Christian Walker looks to warm up after getting two hits last night. Ketel Marte had a homer and a single yesterday and will look to have another two-hit or better game tonight.

Jake McCarthy makes his return to the starting line-up after being absent yesterday, as does Geraldo Perdomo who had a well-deserved day off yesterday.