Yankees' Jordan Montgomery: Flashes improved velocity Monday

Montgomery tossed two no-hit innings out of the bullpen in Monday's 3-3 tie with the Pirates. He struck out three and issued one walk in the outing.

All eyes were on starter Gerrit Cole in his Yankees debut, but Montgomery turned in an impressive following act after the high-priced ace exited after one inning. In addition to the quality results, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com noted that Montgomery's fastball touched 94 miles per hour in his first Grapefruit League appearance, with the southpaw noting afterward that it's the first time he's reached that sort of velocity since he underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2018. The 27-year-old was already on solid ground for a rotation spot with Luis Severino (elbow) and James Paxton (back) both slated to open the season on the injured list, and Montgomery only strengthened his bid for a starting job with Monday's appearance.