The New York Yankees suffered a significant defeat on Sunday, reopening the discussion surrounding the impressive performances of Jordan Montgomery, who once donned the Yankees’ uniform and now shines for the St. Louis Cardinals.
It’s common in sports for players to perform exceptionally well when competing against their former teams. This is known as the “Immutable Law of the Ex.” While this term is commonly used in soccer, it also applies to baseball. Jordan Montgomery’s exceptional performances against his former club are a great example of this.
Jordan Montgomery leads Cardinals to victory over Yankees
The Yankees endured a challenging game, enduring five ²/₃ innings without a hit during their encounter with Jordan Montgomery. Despite securing two hits and an unearned run against their former teammate, the left-handed pitcher once again demonstrated his dominance over his ex-team.
Jordan Montgomery outshone Gerrit Cole, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a decisive 5-1 victory over the Yankees at Busch Stadium. This defeat left the Yankees (46-38) with a bitter taste, particularly as they returned home after a 3-3 road trip against two last-place teams.
The game took an unfortunate turn for the Yankees when manager Aaron Boone was ejected in the third inning for engaging in a heated argument with umpire Dan Merzel regarding balls and strikes. As a result, the team’s offensive output was limited, with the Yankees mustering only three hits throughout the game.
Montgomery exhibited exceptional pitching prowess, smoothly navigating through 6 ²/₃ innings before the Cardinals (35-48) turned to their bullpen to secure the victory.
Although Cole’s performance on Sunday was not his strongest, he managed to limit the Cardinals to just two runs over six solid innings. Unfortunately, his efforts were not enough to salvage a win for the Yankees.
The Yankees struggled to find their rhythm at the plate, with their first hit coming in the sixth inning when Gleyber Torres hit a double. The team’s first run was scored in the seventh inning when Isiah Kiner-Falefa struck out but reached first base due to a wild pitch. Subsequently, Jake Bauers’ double brought him home, ultimately forcing Jordan Montgomery out of the game.
In a crucial moment, the Yankees had an opportunity to equalize against another former pitcher, Giovanny Gallegos, who was traded in exchange for Luke Voit. The team substituted Jose Trevino with Billy McKinney as a pinch hitter, with Anthony Rizzo on the bench. However, McKinney fell victim to a three-pitch strikeout, thwarting the Yankees’ chance to tie the game.
This marked the second encounter between Jordan Montgomery and the Yankees since his trade to the Cardinals last August. In the initial matchup, just four days after the trade, Jordan Montgomery delivered an outstanding performance, pitching five scoreless innings and allowing only two hits in his Cardinals debut.
Despite encountering a challenging situation in the first inning, with runners on first and second base and Paul Goldschmidt at the plate, Gerrit Cole managed to escape unscathed with the help of the Cardinals’ attempted double steal. Trevino swiftly eliminated a runner at third base, and Cole successfully navigated through the remainder of the inning.
Adding to the Yankees’ disappointment, Jimmy Cordero allowed a two-run home run to the Cardinals in the seventh inning, further solidifying their defeat.
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Hitting is obviously the problem. Best active hitter is batting .260+. Yankees are in the desert. You can’t have a inning record scoring 3 runs or less.