Ex-Yankees pitcher Jordan Montgomery displayed immense determination in his initial World Series start with the Texas Rangers. He even managed to navigate through the middle of the Arizona lineup for an unforeseen third time, despite the earlier challenges they posed. However, it was evident that the left-hander wasn’t performing at his absolute peak.
Just five days following his remarkable performance of 2 1/3 innings in relief, securing a victory in the pivotal Game 7 of the AL Championship Series, Montgomery’s sinker velocity had noticeably decreased compared to his season average. The spin on his curveball was also notably reduced. During his outing, he managed to induce only two swing-and-misses despite pitching into the seventh inning and surprisingly did not record a single strikeout.
According to Stathead, Montgomery joined an exclusive group of pitchers in World Series history, becoming only the 14th to pitch at least six innings in a game without recording a single strikeout. He marked the first pitcher to achieve this since 1996 when Yankees starter Jimmy Key didn’t strike out any Braves in the second game of the World Series. Furthermore, Montgomery’s performance made him the first pitcher to complete six innings in a World Series game without a single strikeout since Atlanta’s Greg Maddux in Game 2 against the New York Yankees back in 1996. The last starting pitcher to achieve this feat was Yu Darvish for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 against Houston in 2017, though he didn’t make it out of the second inning. Darvish also didn’t record any strikeouts in Game 3 of that series when he was pulled in the second inning.
Typically, failing to strike out any batters isn’t a recipe for success. Among the 13 previous starters who went without a strikeout in a World Series start lasting six or more innings, only three of their teams managed to secure a victory.
The Diamondbacks not only avoided ending their at-bats with strikeouts but also made solid contact on many of their swings. According to Baseball Savant, Montgomery managed to induce only two swings and misses throughout his 75 pitches thrown. This performance is tied for the lowest number of swings and misses in a World Series game with at least 75 pitches in the pitch tracking era, sharing this record with Andy Pettitte in the 2009 World Series and Tommy Hunter in the 2010 World Series.
Montgomery was acquired by the Rangers at the trade deadline from the St. Louis Cardinals, and at 30 years old, he’s eligible for free agency after the season. Prior to this outing, he had an impressive postseason record of 3-0 with a 2.16 ERA in his first five postseason games.
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This entire paragraph is garbage:
According to Stathead, Montgomery joined an exclusive group of pitchers in World Series history, becoming only the 14th to pitch at least six innings in a game without recording a single strikeout. He marked the first pitcher to achieve this since 1996 when Yankees starter Jimmy Key didn’t strike out any Braves in the second game of the World Series. Furthermore, Montgomery’s performance made him the first pitcher to complete six innings in a World Series game without a single strikeout since Atlanta’s Greg Maddux in Game 2 against the New York Yankees back in 1996. The last starting pitcher to achieve this feat was Yu Darvish for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 against Houston in 2017, though he didn’t make it out of the second inning. Darvish also didn’t record any strikeouts in Game 3 of that series when he was pulled in the second inning.
Why mention a pitcher who didn’t make it 6 innings? Why mention 2 pitchers from the same WS game in 1996 and try to make it sound like they were both the last to pitch 6 innings in a WS game without a strikeout? Maddux would be correct since the Yankees were the home team that game.