TRENTON- Jordan Montgomery is making quite a name for himself in the 2016 season. The Thunder pitcher, and de facto ace of the staff, is leading the Eastern League in ERA, and is 8-3 on the mound. He is also coming off his first appearance in the EL All-Star Game, where he was the starter and winner for the Eastern...
TRENTON- Jordan Montgomery is making quite a name for himself in the 2016 season.
The Thunder pitcher, and de facto ace of the staff, is leading the Eastern League in ERA, and is 8-3 on the mound. He is also coming off his first appearance in the EL All-Star Game, where he was the starter and winner for the Eastern Division.
"It was cool," Montgomery said of his All-Star Game start. "It was only an inning, but Rhys Hoskins (the Reading first baseman) helped me out with a three-run dinger, and it just kept rolling from there."
"It is cool to start the game," Montgomery said. "It kind of opens your eyes. There are a lot of good guys in this league. Every team has a good core of guys that are just trying to do the same thing that you are: get to the big leagues."
But now, with the festivities, and the first half of the season, behind him, Montgomery and the Thunder are in the midst of a playoff race. With Reading in town for the final two games of a series that is split one-each going into Saturday, the big lefty is hoping that his form will continue for the next two months, and beyond.
"I have always been consistent," Montgomery said. "At South Carolina, when you are the Friday guy, you have to go out there, and even when you are bad, you have to be good. If you don't have your best stuff, you still have to eat up six innings to save the series, and save the bullpen."
"I feel like that helped me a lot during the year, and during my pro career so far, Montgomery said. "Even when I am bad I still can salvage good starts, and quality starts, on a regular basis."
With the Thunder (56-36) currently seven games up on the Hartford Yard Goats (48-42) for the final playoff spot, and nine games back of Reading (64-28) after a 4-1 loss Saturday night, there is still much to play for in the final two months. But the landscape can change at any time in Double A, with players coming and going, so Montgomery and his team mates know they have to stay focused on the present.
"We are just trying to win series right now," Montgomery said. "It is a little early to be thinking of that (the playoff race). So we are just trying to take it game-by-game, win two-out-of-three or three-out-of-four, and split some series every now and then if we have to, but we just have to win more than we lose."
BRADY LAIL BACK TO MAKE REHAB START SUNDAY
Trenton shut out Reading Friday night, behind a strong start from Vincente Campos (4-1). The right-handed threw six scoreless innings, then gave way to Tyler Jones and Jonathan Holder, who finished out the gem. It was the 11th shutout of the season for the Thunder, who are on pace to threaten the all-time Eastern League record of 16 in a season, set last year by Altoona.
After the loss on Thursday in the series opener, what did Bobby Mitchell think of the start from Campos?
"Huge," Mitchell said. "Obviously, to beat this team, you have to have good pitching, because they are a really good hitting team. He did a fantastic job of mixing his pitches, and keeping them off balance, especially their two big guys in the middle."
"He has a tendency sometimes to let things snowball," Mitchell said. "But he was able to get out of trouble. I think that is important for his development. If he has an inning where he gives up one or two, it's no problem. But sometimes he will give up three or four."
"He pitches great for a few innings, then gives up runs," Mitchell said. "Then pitches great again. He is trying to eliminate that, and I think the players around him have really helped him do that. Higgy (Kyle Higashioka) went out and talked to him, and Cito (Culver) came in to talk to him. I think they took care of him, and that is good."
MONDAY IS POKEMONDAY AT THE TRENTON THUNDER GAME
Contact Sean Miller at seanmillertrentontimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheProdigalSean