Notes: Montas 'pumped' by fans; Puk close

Facing an early jam in his Cactus League debut in Sunday’s 1-0 loss to the White Sox, A’s right-hander Frankie Montas went to a secret weapon to help him escape: The fans.

Allowing singles to two of the first three hitters he faced in the second inning, Montas used the energy from the home crowd at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz., as a boost, something that was not possible in 2020 as fans were unable to attend games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He came back with a strikeout of Adam Engel and a flyout of Nick Williams to keep the inning scoreless.

“No doubt,” Montas said when asked if he felt a difference on the mound with fans in the stands. “I feel like fans give me that extra adrenaline I need sometimes to get out of a big situation. You get pumped up by the fans, so that was really exciting for me to see them back in the stands again.”

In what was also his first time in a game since a positive COVID-19 test sidelined him earlier in spring, Montas, who turns 28 next week, turned in a vintage performance. Oakland’s 2020 Opening Day starter was pumping fastballs around 95-97 mph and even hit 99 mph at one point over three scoreless innings. He struck out two and allowed just two hits.

Of his 34 pitches, Montas threw just three splitters. He left one up in the zone, but he felt good about the other two thrown near the end of his outing. The splitter is the pitch that Montas added in 2019 and led to a superb campaign, going 9-2 with a 2.63 ERA in 16 starts. After a decline in usage of the splitter last season, his focus this spring is to regain a good feel for the pitch.

“That’s something I think will help me like it helped in the past,” Montas said of throwing the splitter more. “I want to be able to work on it and make sure it’s ready for the season.”

Montas is also out to prove he’s still the top dog in a strong Oakland rotation that has electric left-hander Jesús Luzardo and right-hander Chris Bassitt, who is coming off a career year in which he posted a 2.29 ERA in 11 starts. Both Luzardo and Bassitt are in strong consideration for the Opening Day assignment. With those two turning in impressive spring debuts earlier in the week, Montas said he felt like he had to keep up with them.

“All of us in the rotation, you can ask the same question to the other guys and they’ll tell you the same answer,” Montas said. “We look out for each other, so if one guy has a good outing, we’re happy for him. But we also want to go out there and show what we’ve got. All of us think the same way about that.”

Puk, Rosenthal ready for games

The spring debuts will keep coming in the next week as both left-hander A.J. Puk and right-hander Trevor Rosenthal are expected to appear in games.

Puk, Oakland’s No. 2 prospect per MLB Pipeline, has been working his way back from left shoulder surgery by ramping up with simulated games against A’s hitters. After throwing 30 pitches on Saturday, the 25-year-old lefty was given a rest period of three days, which puts him in line to potentially pitch in Wednesday’s game against the Royals.

“He pitched in the sim game and threw good,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “The guys who faced him were impressed. The velocity looked good and he looked like he had a sharp breaking ball.”

With Mike Fiers in question to make the Opening Day roster as he deals with back tightness, the opportunity for Puk to make the starting rotation out of camp is there, though he’ll have to catch up on innings.

“Ideally, A.J. would be a guy we would look [at],” Melvin said. “Whether or not we’re in a position, innings-wise, for him, we’ll see.”

Rosenthal, whom the A’s signed last month to fill their closer role, has been dealing with a mild groin strain that pushed back his A’s debut last week. But after throwing a bullpen session on Sunday pain-free, his first outing could also come as soon as Wednesday.

“He threw a bullpen and feels good,” Melvin said. “I think we’re looking at two days off and then he’ll throw in a game.”

Up next
The A’s travel to Goodyear, Ariz., for a 1:05 p.m. PT game against the Indians on Monday. Right-hander Chris Bassitt, who looked sharp in three innings against the Brewers his last time out, will be making his second Cactus League start. Left-hander Logan Allen will start for Cleveland.