Frankie Montas is back in the majors.
The seasoned pitcher, who made his first appearance of the season after returning from the injured list, having missed the initial 79 games due to a lat injury, delivered five scoreless innings. He struck out five batters while allowing three hits and three walks in the Mets’ 7-4 defeat.
Manager Carlos Mendoza said he was happy with the performance.
“I thought he was good,” Mendoza said “I thought the ball was coming out well.”
Mendoza pointed to Montas’ signature sinker as his best pitch of the night.
Though many of the Braves hitters did not chase it, he was still able to generate a good number of groundballs.
Despite his effective performance, starting Montas against the division rival Braves seemed risky, given his somewhat unimpressive stats during his rehab stint in the minors.
In six minor league outings, Montas had a 12.05 ERA, allowing 25 earned runs over 18 ²/₃ innings and eight home runs.
But, especially in his last outing, Mendoza said Montas’ pitches were looking strong.
“He’s the kind of pitcher we faced in the playoffs,” Mendoza noted, recalling Montas’ performance in the Mets’ wild-card series against Milwaukee last year.
Montas worked out of two jams with two runners on in the first and third innings. Each time, he was able to work out of dangers and keep the game scoreless.
Montas ended up with a no-decision as the bullpen imploded in the sixth inning.
When asked how it felt to be back with the Mets, he said he was just doing his job.
“I was just trying to go out there and … do my job, get people out,” Montas said.
