Mason Montgomery gets win after scoreless ninth

Montgomery allowed no runs while recording two strikeouts in the ninth inning. It was a dominant performance that earned him his fifth save of the year. Montgomery has two saves in the last five days, but only three total in August so far.

Montgomery needed just 11 pitches to retire the side, striking out two. He now has 41 strikeouts in his last 19 2/3 innings, a stretch in which he has allowed four earned runs. Pittsburgh made several notable bullpen additions at the trade deadline, but the club hasn’t had many save opportunities lately. Montgomery has three of the team’s five saves in the second half, including each of the past two. His strikeout potential gives him the highest fantasy upside if the Pirates hand him the majority of ninth-inning chances.

Montgomery ended up with a one-out save last night, though only after Kirby Yates created the save situation by giving up a run and three hits in the ninth. It sounds like Kelly favors Montgomery right now, but it’s been really hard to tell with the Pirates struggling. Weaver has pitched just twice in the 12 days since he was acquired: once with the Pirates down four in the ninth and last night with the team up by five in the eighth. Montgomery hasn’t pitched much either. Last night’s save was his fourth of the year and first since the day Weaver was acquired on Aug. 3.

Montgomery got the call to guard a one-run advantage after Camilo Doval tossed a scoreless eighth inning. He managed to work around a one-out single from Joey Ortiz by striking out Brice Turang and Jackson Chourio to extinguish the threat. He’s likely going to take a back seat to newly acquired high-leverage veteran Luke Weaver, but could wind up vulturing the occasional save chance against lefty-heavy lineups.

Montgomery allowed a single to Dansby Swanson to begin the ninth before striking out Pete Crow-Armstrong. However, Suzuki connected for a two-run shot that turned an 8-5 game into a one-run lead. Montgomery then recorded the final two outs to still land the save. Notably, he was chosen for the opportunity despite neither him nor Gregory Soto having pitched since Friday. They each now have two saves in July, so this looks like a committee going forward. Of course, the upcoming trade deadline could further shake up this bullpen.

It’s Soto’s second save in the last month, as he’s mostly been working in the eighth of late. Today, Mason Montgomery came into a tie game in the eighth and got four outs to send the game to extras. Soto then got the save chance after the Pirates scored twice in the top of the 10th. It’s possible that Soto will regain the closer’s role in Pittsburgh — he’s allowed just one run in 6 2/3 innings this month — but, for now, it should still be considered a committee, with Montgomery and others also in the mix. Yohan Ramírez might have a chance at a save in game two tonight.

Mason Montgomery was uninvolved in the late game mix tonight, as he opened and threw a scoreless first inning. The Pirates had Brandon Eisert begin the eighth with a 3-0 lead, but he gave up three singles to load the bases with one out. Soto entered then and allowed all of the inherited runners to score before escaping the inning. Santana took over in the ninth in a tie game and gave up hits to all three batters he faced. The second of those was a double that saw the winning run thrown out at home plate. However, that just served to set up Travis Bazzana’s walkoff homer. Montgomery seems like the Pirates’ best late-game reliever right now, but with the way Don Kelly is managing things, it’s hard to recommend any of the team’s relievers.

It sounds like this will be a bullpen game, as Montgomery is not someone who is built up enough to go more than an inning or two. Fantasy managers looking to steal a win should look elsewhere, as it’s hard to fathom he’ll go the necessary number of innings to qualify.

After Gregory Soto converted a save in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Brewers, Montgomery got the chance in the second game with a one-run lead. He worked around a walk, striking out two batters to shut the door on Milwaukee for his first save as the Pirates swept the doubleheader.

Brandon Marsh homered with one out and Bryson Stott singled with two outs, at which point Soto was pulled. Yohan Ramírez took over and allowed the inherited runner to score before finishing the inning. That might have created a save chance for Mason Montgomery, but the Pirates scored three times in the top of the ninth to take it away. Montgomery then pitched a hitless ninth with a four-run lead. Soto has blown two saves and given up runs in two other appearances this month, so it looks like the closer’s role in Pittsburgh is open again. Montgomery, Dennis Santana and Ramirez could all factor into the mix, with Carmen Mlodzinski also possibly picking up some multi-inning saves.