Frankie Montas didn’t quite go the full six innings, which would’ve made him only the second Mets starter in a month to do so. But that wasn’t the priority. His job was to keep the game within reach — and he delivered.
Although Montas didn’t put on a dominant display, he still turned in a solid effort. He pitched 5.2 innings, gave up two runs, and struck out a season-high six batters, setting the stage for the Mets to come back and claim a 3-2 victory over the Angels Tuesday night at Citi Field.
“I threw some good splitters, good sweepers, good sliders. I thought I had a nice amount of pitches working tonight,” Montas said after the win. “I feel pretty good. I would’ve loved to finish the sixth inning, though. But step by step, I definitely feel better and better every time I step on the mound. I feel like my pitches are moving better. I’m getting more movement, more strikes. I keep making progress every start… The first two innings, I thought I was missing my location. I tried to throw my pitches in a better spot after that. Things were working better after that.”
Montas had a shaky start, giving up a double in the first inning and a single to Mike Trout. Fortunately for the Mets, a strong throw and a close call at home plate saw Nolan Schanuel tagged out.
In the second inning, Jorge Soler put the Angels on the board with a two-out solo homer. Later, Schanuel returned the favor with an RBI double in the fifth, extending the Angels’ lead to 2-0.
Despite allowing eight hits, Montas managed to retire eight straight batters at one point. He exited the game with the Mets trailing, but thanks to their offense, he picked up his third win of the year.
Manager Carlos Mendoza praised the outing, saying, “I thought he was good. I thought the secondary pitches were good. He used all of them in the strike zone, expanded when he needed to. He’s got to be able to compete in the strike zone with the secondaries — whether it’s the split, the slider, the sweeper. The cutter elevated against a couple of lefties.”
Mendoza also highlighted Montas reaching 97 mph in the sixth inning. “The other good sign for me was, he was able to reach 97 [mph] in that sixth inning to get Soler for strike three in the top of the zone. That’s a good sign. For him to reach there at 90 pitches, it was really good to see. So, a very good outing and very good step for him.”
Montas threw 58 strikes across a season-high 91 pitches. Since returning from the injured list in late June, he has compiled a 4.62 ERA and 1.30 WHIP over five starts. He’s also posted a 23-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 25.1 innings.
His next big test? A scheduled start next week on the road against the Padres.
“Definitely feel better every time I step on the mound,” Montas added in his postgame comments.
