Mason

Montgomery

A day after an ugly blown save against the Tigers, Montgomery finished the season on a high note. He got Ben Malgeri on a bouncer to first and then struck out Riley Greene and Eduardo Valencia in succession to end the ballgame. Montgomery finishes a brilliant 2026 campaign with a 2.88 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and a 105/26 K/BB ratio over 68 2/3 innings in his 70 appearances while recording 18 saves in 21 chances. He wound up being one of the strongest sources of saves off the waiver wire for fantasy managers in 2026.

Montgomery was summoned to protect a two-run lead in the final frame and was unable to get the job done. He still had a chance to secure the save after Kevin McGonigle slashed the deficit to a single run with an RBI ground out, but he served up a walk-off two-run homer to Eduardo Valencia with two outs.

Montgomery has won some fantasy leagues with his 10 saves and a victory in his 11 appearances this month. Today’s outing put him at 102 strikeouts in 67 innings.

Montgomery continues to be automatic in the ninth inning for the Pirates. He picked up another save Sunday, his 16th of the year. Montgomery extended his scoreless innings streak to 23 2/3 innings, dating back to July 26. He has a 2.59 ERA this year.

Montgomery entered with a one-run lead in the ninth inning. After walking the lead-off man and the runner moving into scoring position on a stolen base, he retired the next three hitters consecutively. Montgomery extended his scoreless streak to 22 2/3 innings. He has a 2.63 ERA this year. Montgomery has been a stabilizing force at the back of the Pirates’ bullpen after they spent the first half of the season searching for a closer.

Montgomery did walk two batters, but he didn’t allow a hit and struck out two batters on his 29 pitches. Montgomery has not allowed a run since July 26th, which is now a 21 2/3 inning scoreless streak with a 36/6 K/BB ratio. He has a 2.67 ERA and 14th saves on the season and has become an elite, young closer.

Montgomery got a flyout and two groundouts in a rare strikeout-less inning. He’s up to six saves in September and 13 overall.

Montgomery made things a bit interesting, allowing a leadoff single to Randal Grichuk that brought the tying run to the dish. He rebounded though, to retire Miguel Vargas and Munetaka Murakami on ground balls before striking out Edgar Quero to end the game. The 26-year-old southpaw has been terrific for the Bucs this season, registering a 2.77 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and a 95/23 K/BB ratio over 61 2/3 innings while converting 12 of his first 14 save chances.

Montgomery struck out Sam Antonacci and Miguel Vargas to end the game, which saw the Pirates use eight pitchers. It’s Montgomery’s 19th straight scoreless appearance since July 27.

Montgomery pitched around a two-out walk to close the door on the Angels for his 10th save. He still hasn’t allowed a run since July 26. Montgomery has a 2.87 ERA this year.