There’s something curious about the end of some of the games that have been started by New York Yankees southpaw Jordan Montgomery.
Call it a coincidence, twist of fate, string of bad luck, or whatever you will, but for a New York Yankees team that has had so many stirring victories this season, Montgomery has been the constant in some of the team’s most bitter losses.
New York Yankees starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery holds an interesting distinction in the 2022 MLB season
Montgomery has made 19 starts for the Yankees this season, including the opener of the unofficial second half of the season on Thursday afternoon in a doubleheader on the road against the Houston Astros. That game ended with New York suffering its fifth walk-off loss of the season as pinch hitter J.J. Matijevic hit a two-out infield single that scored Alex Bregman to give Houston a 3-2 victory.
In each of those five walk-off losses this season, there has been one constant: Montgomery has started all five for the Yankees. While he had little to do with how the game ended, the fact that he has been on the mound to begin all five losses makes him the MLB starting pitcher with the most eventual walk-off losses this season (h/t to @ktsharp for that nugget).
Other than Thursday’s loss (where Montgomery scattered seven hits over 6.1 innings and allowed two runs), here are the other walk-off defeats for the Yankees this season, as well as how Montgomery fared in them.
April 15 at Baltimore (lost 2-1 in 11 innings) — Montgomery 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER
May 14 at Chicago White Sox (lost 3-2) — Montgomery 4.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER
May 19 at Baltimore (lost 9-6) — Montgomery 5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER
July 9 at Boston (lost 6-5 in 10 innings) — Montgomery 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER
In all, that’s 26.1 innings pitched with 28 hits and nine earned runs allowed (3.08 ERA), so Montgomery has certainly done his part to start the game. Yet, somehow, he’s still been in the box score every time the Yankees have walked off the field as the other team celebrated.
Interestingly, all five walk-off losses for the Yankees have also been on the road.
Somewhere, somehow, Jordan Montgomery must have angered the baseball gods and they are exacting their revenge on him even after he has left the mound.