It was a bad outing. Perhaps it was Frankie Montas’ worst outing.
In the A’s 10-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday, Montas lasted just 1 2/3 innings giving up six hits and nine runs, two walks and two home runs. His ERA ballooned to 4.74.
The D-backs' bats were rather spicy with impressive exit velocity, as lumber is known to produce at Chase Field.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
A’s outfielder Stephen Piscotty has always thrived there, dating back to his time with the St. Louis Cardinals.
“I feel like the ball carries a good amount here,” Piscotty said. “It’s thinner air, it’s warm … a lot of little factors kind of stack up on top of each other, you start to feel really comfortable.”
Before Tuesday, Montas had never given up more than seven runs in an outing. After the game, he believed his timing was partly to blame.
“I think my timing, my mechanics were a little off today,” Montas said.
Oakland Athletics
Montas didn’t have the usual five days of rest in between starts -- he had longer than that.
That might have been part of the problem, Montas explained, but not the end-all.
“Yes and no, like I said, it’s just my mechanic[s],” he said.
He originally was supposed to be the starter in Friday’s game against the Giants, but was scratched in the morning due to upper back and neck tightness.
As far as the tightness, Montas said he didn’t feel any pain at all during Tuesday's outing, and A’s manager Bob Melvin noted the starter didn’t mention anything of the sort once he was pulled.
Montas wanted to make it through the game, as any pitcher would.
“I told them I feel good,” Montas said.
RELATED: A's cement status among MLB's best in Battle of the Bay sweep
Melvin knew Montas felt fine, but chalked it up to being one of those off-days.
“Jumping a little bit at times, trying to find the right arm slot, I think it was probably a product of not pitching in a while,” Melvin said after the game. “The velo was good, he felt good, it just wasn’t all there together for him command-wise. So you move on and look forward to his next start.”