Crossing Jordan

Montgomery to make major league debut as Tanaka gets extra day off

Jordan Montgomery will make his major league debut Wednesday against the Rays at Yankee Stadium as part of the Yankees’ reshuffled rotation plans.

Initially, the Yankees said a fifth starter wasn’t needed until April 16 versus the Cardinals. However, watching ace Masahiro Tanaka throw 35 pitches in the fifth and final inning Saturday in Baltimore, manager Joe Girardi decided an extra day of rest for him, CC Sabathia and Luis Severino wouldn’t hurt.

Hence, Montgomery is the fifth starter and will work ahead of schedule.

So, the Yankees’ pitching plans beyond the left-handed Montgomery look like this: Severino starts Thursday against the Rays at Yankee Stadium, Tanaka opens a three-game series against the Cardinals on Friday night and will be followed by Sabathia and Pineda.

Before the conspiracy theories as to why Girardi is giving Tanaka an extra day of rest begin, the manager said it is simply a product of how hard he had to work to get through the fifth inning Saturday when he gave up two runs.

“I actually said it that day when I saw [pitching coach] Larry [Rothschild] and I said, ‘He had to work so hard in that fifth inning and he was throwing 96, 97 miles per hour, I think it might be a good idea to give him an extra day,’’ said Girardi, who is well aware Tanaka is a better pitcher with five days’ rest instead of the customary four.

As for the 24-year-old Montgomery, he wasn’t among the five candidates for the two open spots in the rotation at the beginning of spring training. However, he pitched very well in three late starts to make the Yankees believe they may have something in the 2014 fourth-round pick out of South Carolina.

“He has a four-pitch mix and a very good downhill angle,’’ Girardi said of Montgomery, who whiffed the Rays’ Evan Longoria twice in a March 23 spring training game that got the Yankees’ brass attention. “He is 6-6, left- handed and he was able to use his breaking ball extremely well, whether it was his curveball and cutter, and his changeup is good. When he locates his fastball it is really good. His stuff is good and he has run to his fastball on the firstbase side of the plate. He has different ways to get you out.’’

The pick over Chad Green and Luis Cessa. Montgomery went five innings for Single-A Tampa on Thursday, allowed three hits, a run, walked one and struck out eight.

The Yankees optioned lefty reliever Chasen Shreve to make room for Montgomery on the 25man roster. They will have to make a move to get him on the 40-man roster. James Kaprielian is expected to be have his right elbow examined by Dr. Neal ElAt

trache in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Kaprielian, 23, is the Yankees’ top pitching prospect. He was placed on the minor league DL last week when he underwent an MRI exam and a dye-contrast MRI and was looked at by both team physician

Chris Ahmad and Daniel Murphy, the Yankees’ orthopedist in Tampa.

Kaprielian was limited to three Single-A games last April with Tampa because of a flexor tendon problem that didn’t require sur- gery. He appeared in seven Arizona Fall League games. After being brought along slowly in spring training where he worked primarily in simulated games, Kaprielian worked one exhibition.

Kyle Higashioka made his major league debut catching the ninth inning Monday but did not get an at-bat.

Monday’s game-time temperature of 76 degrees was the warmest for a Yankees home opener since 1960, when the temperature was 78 degrees on April 22. The game-time temperature for last season’s home opener was 36 degrees.

Monday’s 8-1 win was the 900th of Girardi’s career and 822nd with the Yankees, which is sixth in the club’s history.

Former Yankee Alex Rodriguez took in Opening Day in a luxury suite with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.