New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles: Jordan Montgomery vs. Bruce Zimmermann

The Yankees are officially on their worst slump of the season — okay, yes, it’s only a three-game losing streak. Those will happen eventually throughout the year, and the Yankees were never going to go without at least a few despite their torrid start to the season. Now that they’re in the midst of one though, it’s imperative that they cut it off sooner rather than later — their cushion in the playoff field isn’t that big and an extended losing streak would strain it further.

Enter Jordan Montgomery. Monty’s been the hard-luck starter throughout the good times, pitching very well to the tune of a 3.35 ERA and 3.69 FIP with 32 strikeouts against just eight walks over 40.1 innings. The problem has been the Yankee offense whenever he’s on the mound, which has provided a measly 2.75 runs per game for him. For reference, Nestor Cortes gets the second-lowest run support out of the Yankees starters and the lineup manages to give him 4.38 runs per game. If Montgomery hasn’t been getting backed up during the good times, perhaps they’ll rally around him during this first stress test.

Bruce Zimmermann gets the ball for Baltimore, looking to even out his outings against the Yankees. The first time the left-hander faced New York he managed to lull them through five shutout innings, but in his previous two appearances the Bombers have roughed him for nine runs (eight earned) in 9.1 innings combined. Overall, Zimmermann has been solid, pitching to a 3.48 ERA and 3.58 FIP with 34 strikeouts and 10 walks in 41.1 innings. He’s been part of a Baltimore rotation that has regressed to the mean a bit after suffering years of truly dreadful pitching, and it will be interesting to see if a limping Yankees lineup can continue to do damage to him.

As a note, DJ LeMahieu was in the Yankees’ original lineup tonight but was scratched with left wrist soreness. With Josh Donaldson on the COVID-IL, Marwin Gonzalez will step in at third base while Aaron Hicks shifts to the leadoff spot.

How to watch:

Location: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, NY

First pitch: 7:05 p.m. EST

TV broadcast: YES, MASN

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9, WADO 1280, WVMP

Online stream: MLB.tv

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