KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jordan Montgomery allowed one run over five innings to win in his return from a layoff of nearly one month caused by a knee injury, and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Kansas City Royals 6-2 Tuesday night.
Ketel Marte hit a two-run homer and scored three runs.
Montgomery (7-5) allowed three hits, walked one and struck out two, throwing 39 of 67 pitches for strikes. The 31-year-old left-hander, signed by the NL champions to a $25 million, one-year contract in March, had been sidelined since June 27 by right knee inflammation. He won for the first time since June 21 at Philadelphia.
“I felt comfortable out there and pain free, and that was nice to be pain free,” Montgomery said. “I think it just messed with my delivery a little bit, where I was yanking everything and I didn’t want to put any pressure on my legs, but I grinded it out and I’m glad to be here now.”
Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Montgomery was nearing his pitch count when he finished a 1-2-3 fifth inning.
“His changeup was in play, and that’s a very key pitch for him,” Lovullo said. “The first go-round before he got banged up, it was a pitch he was leaving out over the plate. The pitch was very, very effective and he had a lot of confidence in it.”
Montgomery got four swings and misses on 19 changeups and six foul balls.
“It got me through the game,” Montgomery said. “I was a little wild with everything else. My four-seam and my changeup really got me through, got me some swing and miss when I needed it.”
Bryce Jarvis pitched two shutout innings, and Joe Mantiply, Ryan Thompson and Kevin Ginkel finished as Arizona stopped the Royals’ four-game winning streak. Kansas City had won eight of 10 coming in.
Bobby Witt Jr. went 1 for 4 with an RBI double in the first, ending his streak of four straight three-hit games.
Marte hit a two-run homer off the right-field foul pole in the fifth against Alec Marsh (7-7), who gave up five runs, five hits and two walks in five innings. Marte followed Geraldo Perdomo’s leadoff double with his 21st home run.
“I was trying to down and away with a changeup and he just jumped it,” Marsh said.
Christian Walker’s sacrifice fly and Gabriel Moreno’s two-out, two-run single built a 3-0 lead in the first.
Witt’s double was his 13th hit in 16 at-bats since the All-Star Game, his sixth for extra bases. Salvador Perez had an RBI single in the ninth.
Arizona optioned right-hander Humberto Castellanos to Triple-A Reno and activated Montgomery.
Kansas City agreed to a minor league contract with the sixth overall draft pick Jac Caglianone, a two-way player from the University of Florida.
UP NEXT
Arizona RHP Ryne Nelson (7-6, 4.78) starts Wednesday night’s series finale against Kansas City RHP Michael Wacha (7-6, 3.55).
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