Jordan Montgomery can’t catch a break.
The southpaw, in his first full season with the Cardinals, after the Yankees traded him to St. Louis last August, took his seventh loss of the season on Saturday, tied for most in the National League and second in the majors.
Just one of the four runs Montgomery allowed to the Pirates was earned and his ERA lowered from 4.48 to 4.23. But the 30-year-old suffered the ignominy of the Cardinals losing the 10th straight game he has started, dating back to April 13, after he earned wins in each of his first two starts of the year.
He is 2-7 this season.
“I am not [a] loser,” Montgomery told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I’m going to keep giving them everything I’ve got out there. The team knows that. Manager knows it. Pitching coach knows it. Fan base knows it. … Baseball stinks. It’s not always easy. It’s not always going to go great. Everybody has to stick with what they do – and try to do it better.”
Montgomery returned to the mound in the third inning Saturday after a 60-minute rain delay, not wanting to put a burden on the bullpen.
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Pittsburgh tied the game 1-1 in the fifth and took a 4-1 lead in the sixth before the Pirates won 4-3.
“Could care less about me recording a W,” Montgomery said. “Just really want the team to win. But, still super early, so we’ll keep going out there, and I’ll keep giving them everything I got.”
In 98 appearances (97 starts) over parts of six seasons with the Yankees, Montgomery went 22-20 with a 3.94 ERA and 478 strikeouts.
He was strong down the stretch for the Cardinals last season after the trade, pitching to a 3.11 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 63 ⅔ innings, with the Cardinals going 8-3 in his 11 starts.
The Cardinals (25-35) were swept by the Pirates (31-27) on Sunday and are in last place in the National League.
