ARLINGTON, Texas — Jordan Montgomery looks the way he did when Skip Schumaker coached him with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Texas Rangers manager said Sunday, a night after the left-hander threw 3 2/3 hitless innings in relief against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Montgomery took over Saturday with one out in the second after Cal Quantrill left with right lat tightness. He threw 51 pitches, walked 1, struck out 1, and left with a 3-0 lead after the fifth. Toronto’s first baserunner came on a walk in the fourth inning.
On The Skip Schumaker Show, the pregame segment Rangers Sports Network posts, Schumaker said Montgomery’s sinker was playing and his off-speed pitches were good, and that the command was the part that separated the outing.
“He looks really good. I had him in St. Louis as a bench coach there, and he looked very similar,” Schumaker said. “Sinker was playing really well. Off-speed pitches were really good, but the command is what really stood out and pounded the zone exactly what we needed last night even more.”
Schumaker was the Cardinals’ bench coach in 2022, the season St. Louis acquired Montgomery from the New York Yankees at the trade deadline.
Jordan Montgomery’s Return From Elbow Surgery
Montgomery, 33, had not pitched in a major league game between Sept. 22, 2024, and this August. He underwent hybrid UCL reconstruction surgery in March 2025 and missed the entire season, and Texas placed him on the 60-day injured list on March 8 of this year.
The Rangers activated him on Aug. 7 and designated right-hander Nolan Kingham for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot. Montgomery has pitched out of the bullpen since.
Saturday’s win was Montgomery’s first in the majors since Aug. 14, 2024, when he pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He won a World Series with Texas in 2023.
Texas Rangers Bullpen Covers The Toronto Blue Jays Series
Montgomery had thrown 16 pitches out of the bullpen two days earlier against the Boston Red Sox. On Friday, Trevor Williams threw the final 4 innings of a 7-1 win over Toronto without allowing a run.
Five relievers covered the final 7 2/3 innings Saturday and allowed 2 runs between them. Nathan Eovaldi followed Montgomery in the sixth, Robert Garcia gave up a pinch-hit homer to Davis Schneider in the seventh, and Chase Silseth and Jacob Latz each pitched a scoreless inning to finish it.
Jacob deGrom (11-9, 3.79 ERA) starts Sunday’s finale at 1:35 p.m. CT on Rangers Sports Network. Texas (78-77) leads the Houston Astros by one game in the American League West with seven to play.
