Montgomery pitches Cubs past Pirates
CHICAGO — Mike Montgomery pitched six-hit ball into the eighth inning and helped himself at the plate, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 6-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night.
Montgomery (5-6) struck out four and walked none in his second start since he was inserted into the rotation after Jon Lester was placed on the 10-day disabled list. The left-hander was pulled after Jordy Mercer snapped his 17 1/3-inning scoreless streak with a leadoff homer in the eighth.
Carl Edwards Jr. got three outs before Wade Davis finished the six-hitter as Chicago moved 2 1/2 games ahead of idle Milwaukee for the top spot in the NL Central.
Trevor Williams (5-7) hung in there with Montgomery, pitching five innings of two-run ball, but Pittsburgh lost for the 11th time in its last 16 games. Mercer went 3 for 3, David Freese had two hits and Andrew McCutchen singled for the Pirates.
Chicago was clinging to a 1-0 lead when Montgomery beat out an infield chopper over Williams’ head for a leadoff single in the fifth. He advanced to third on Tommy La Stella’s one-out single and scored when Anthony Rizzo’s bases-loaded drive pushed McCutchen all the way back to the wall in center for a leaping catch.
The Cubs added three more in the eighth on Alex Avila’s basesloaded infield single and errors
Chicago starting pitcher Mike Montgomery delivers during the first inning of Monday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Chicago. on second baseman Sean Rodriguez and catcher Chris Stewart. Rodriguez threw wide of first while trying to retire Avila, and Stewart threw the ball into center field to bring home another run.
Montgomery also got some help from shortstop Javier Baez, who made a pair of nice defensive plays.
First, he robbed Jose Osuna of a hit with a terrific diving stop and strong throw in the third. Then he made a diving catch in the fifth and got up to tag Mercer for an unassisted double play. Charles Rex Arbogast / The Associated Press
inning. OF Jordan Luplow and RHP Dovydas Neverauskas were promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis, and RHP Johnny Barbato was sent down to Pittsburgh’s top farm club.
Cubs: Lester threw 47 pitches to Willson Contreras and Kyle Schwarber during a simulated game. Lester, who is on the DL with left lat tightness and general shoulder fatigue, could need a minor league rehab start. “I think a lot of it will depend on how he feels tomorrow, how he feels like he came through today,” general manager Jed Hoyer said. “I thought he looked good. It looked like the ball was coming out well.” ... Contreras (right hamstring strain) also took early batting practice . ... SS Addison Russell (right foot strain) and RHP Justin Grimm (finger infection) each made their first rehab appearance with Triple-A Iowa. Russell went 1 for 3 with a double, and Grimm allowed a run while pitching one inning.
NEW YORK — Aaron Judge, please be seated. The slumping slugger is getting a couple of days off, and the New York Yankees hope the rest will help him find his swing.
“Try to refresh him and get him going. He’s played in a lot of games,” manager Joe Girardi said. “He never wants to sit.”
Judge was out of the lineup Monday night as the Yankees fell 6-2 to 2014 AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber and the Cleveland Indians in the opener of a three-game series. Aaron Hicks played right field in Judge’s place. Girardi said Judge probably will also sit out tonight, and the plan is to avoid even using him off the bench.
“I told him today, ‘Just take today off. Just take today off and rest your body.’ I think that’s important. And then we’ll get back to work,” Girardi said. “I just want him just to take a mental day and a physical day and just rest. Just rest. He hasn’t had many of those days and I think in the long run this is going to help us.”
Judge leads the American League with 37 home runs and a .581 slugging percentage, but has tailed off dramatically since winning the Home Run Derby during the All-Star break. The big rookie was batting .179 with seven homers and 16 RBIs in the second half, dropping his overall average 49 points to .280.
“I just thought that he’s been missing some pitches that he usually was hitting in the first half, and sometimes just a couple days away can refresh a guy and get him back on track,” Girardi said. “It’s not what you really want to do. We’ve tried a lot of different other things, and so we’re going to try this.”
Judge had struck out a major league-high 174 times and recently whiffed in a record 37 consecutive games, a streak that ended last Tuesday in Detroit.
He went 1 for 3 with a double and two walks in Sunday’s 10-1 victory over Seattle, but has only two hits in his last 18 at-bats. And although the Yankees are playing a potential playoff opponent in AL Centralleading Cleveland, they certainly want Judge in peak form for a four-game series against rival Boston beginning Thursday night at Yankee Stadium.
Judge has been receiving treatment on his left shoulder, but Girardi said the outfielder told him he doesn’t think that’s contributed to his struggles at the plate.
“I think at this time all players are a little bit beat up, but no, I just feel like it might be time to give him a couple days,” Girardi explained. “He’s a tough kid and he wants to be out there every day for his team.”