Drury finds cause
BEFORE THE Yankees trounced the Blue Jays, 9-1, at the Stadium on Saturday afternoon, Aaron Boone offered a blunt assessment of the state of his bullpen.
Abbreviated starts from CC Sabathia (4.1 innings) and Sonny Gray (3.1 innings) on back-toback days had left the Yankees bullpen in dire shape. Boone all but pleaded for a strong outing from lefthander Jordan Montgomery, who took the mound for Saturday’s home matinee.
“For our bullpen to be what we know they are,” Boone said before the game, “we’ve got to be able to protect them with innings from our starters.”
Montgomery delivered.
The 25-year-old southpaw allowed just one earned run over six solid innings, weaving his way in and out of trouble with a crisp, diving changeup, a sharp curveball and consistent fastball command. Montgomery did issue three walks, one of which led to a run in the fifth inning, but he struck out five and came through with huge outs in high-leverage situations to limit the damage.
“He was great,” Boone said after the win. “Really proud of his effort.”
It was Montgomery’s best start of the season and helped steady a rotation littered with question marks 19 games into this 2018 season. Masahiro Tanaka (6.92 ERA) has allowed six earned runs in consecutive starts, and Sonny Gray (8.92 ERA) is completely lost, leading some to question whether the haul the Yankees sent to the A’s last season was truly worth it.
But if Montgomery can be the pitcher he was Saturday, the Yankees’ rotation looks considerably better, with Sabathia returning from the disabled list and Luis Severino, who starts Sunday, continuing to pitch like an ace.
“He’s hard to hit,” Boone said of Montgomery. “He has a knack for making pitches.”
After a perfect opening two innings, Montgomery pitched himself into a bases loaded jam in the third when he walked Steve Pearce on six pitches. But he responded by striking out Teoscar Hernandez swinging in the next at-bat, burying a curveball into the dirt on 3-2, before forcing No. 3 hitter Yangervis Solarte into a pop up to end the inning.
Montgomery cruised through the fourth before encountering another threat in the fifth. He issued a leadoff walk to the struggling Randal Grichuk, who entered the game hitting .088. Montgomery then allowed backto-back singles to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Pearce, which brought home the Jays’ first run of the game.
“Can’t walk Grichuk on four pitches,” Montgomery said.
Again, though, Montgomery battled. With runners on first and third and nobody out, the lefthander struck out Hernandez in a second straight at-bat, this time on three pitches. He then retired Solarte and Kendrys Morales, protecting a 2-1 Yankee lead.
“I was really impressed,” catcher Austin Romine said of Montgomery’s performance under pressure. “There’s a better demeanor about him this year. Not that it was bad last year, but he’s got more confidence. He’s been in higher-leverage situations. So I think it speaks volumes for his character that he was able to keep the game slow and make pitches when he needed to.”
Montgomery spun a 1-2-3 sixth inning before the Yankees exploded for seven runs in the bottom half. Boone said he was considering sending Montgomery back out for the seventh inning considering his hampered bullpen, but because the bottom of the sixth dragged on for 35 minutes, he opted to bring in reliever Chasen Shreve instead.
“It looked like he was tired, and he comes out and has a really clean, really fast sixth inning,” Boone said. “It was huge. It was a huge effort and one obviously we really needed.”
Brandon Drury finally has some answers. The Yankee third baseman, who was placed on the 10-day disabled list two weeks ago because of severe migraines and blurry vision, said Saturday that an irritated tendon running up his neck and into his head was the root of the perplexing issue. Drury revealed earlier this month that he’d been dealing with the impaired vision and migraines for years.
Team doctors have developed a treatment plan for Drury, who participated in full pregame workouts on Thursday and Friday that included ground balls, running and live batting practice. The treatment is helping relieve the pressure in Drury’s neck, and the 25-year-old is seeing continued improvement in his vision as a result.
“We’re doing everything we can to really free that up, clear that up,” Drury said Saturday morning before the Yankees played the Blue Jays at the Stadium, “so my eyes can work right and my vision will be clear.”
Drury said it feels “really good” to finally have some clarity.
“Now it’s just a matter of time and a matter of days of doing what I can to get this thing feeling right so I can get back out there,” he added.
Drury must still decide if he needs minor-league rehab games before returning to the majors. Manager Aaron Boone said “it’s possible” that assignment could come as soon as next week, depending on how Drury progresses Saturday and Sunday.
“I feel pretty close,” Drury said. “I want to keep doing some more stuff these next couple days and do my