Montgomery 'pain free' over five strong frames in return from injury

KANSAS CITY -- Jordan Montgomery returned to the starting rotation Tuesday night and gave the Diamondbacks exactly what they had hoped he would.

The veteran left-hander kept the Royals off balance for five solid innings to pave the way for the D-backs’ 6-2 victory at Kauffman Stadium.

Montgomery, who worked his way back from right knee inflammation that had kept him off a Major League mound since June 27, threw 67 pitches (39 strikes) and never wavered after the first two batters he faced recorded hits. Montgomery was on a pitch count, but finished his start with four scoreless innings while facing just two over the minimum in that span to earn the win.

With Montgomery back, and Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez targeting early-August returns, the D-backs’ starting rotation is nearing a major boost with plenty of time to make a strong playoff push.

“I felt comfortable and pain free,” Montgomery said. “It felt nice to be pain free.”

Montgomery showcased his changeup while allowing just three hits. Two of those hits were singles off the end of the bat and the other was an RBI double by red-hot Bobby Witt Jr.

“If you only get barreled up once, you are usually doing something right,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery added on Witt: “I felt like I could have thrown it to the backstop and he would have hit it somehow. That’s the way he’s swinging it right now.”

Manager Torey Lovullo went into the game with a pitch count for Montgomery “somewhere around 65 to 70.” The goal now is for Montgomery to hit 85 his next time out.

Two batters in, Montgomery had given up a run and Witt was at second. But he chopped down the 3-4-5 hitters in order to end the first. Montgomery also executed a pickoff in the fourth to ultimately get through five innings and pick up the win.

“He reads swings,” Royals right fielder Hunter Renfroe said of Montgomery. “He knows how to pitch. He didn’t go to the World Series last year for no reason.”

The D-backs weren’t pleased with their performance in a 10-4 loss in series opener on Monday. It was a game full of emotion after two hit batters and Lovullo’s ejection. But Arizona took the field Tuesday looking to make amends and put themselves in position to win the series.

“We were all a little bitter about what happened [Monday],” Lovullo said. “Not the events, but the loss. It didn’t sit well with us.”

The D-backs’ bats went right to work in giving Montgomery a three-run lead before the lefty took the mound. A sacrifice fly by Christian Walker and a two-out, two-run single by Gabriel Moreno made it 3-0 in the first off Royals starter Alec Marsh. The Royals countered quickly with Witt’s RBI double in the first, but then Montgomery got on a roll with his soft array of pitches and allowed just one more hit the rest of the way.

A two-run homer by Ketel Marte -- his second in two nights -- gave Arizona a 5-1 lead in the fifth. He reached base three times and scored three runs.

Marte’s homer, which rang off the right-field foul pole, was the 125th of his career -- ranking sixth on the club’s all-time list.

“You just always give 100 percent,” Marte said through an interpreter. “You’re going to win some and lose some. Thankfully, it went well today.”

The D-backs haven’t dropped a series since June 25-27 against Minnesota, and can keep that trend going if they can defeat Kansas City on Wednesday to wrap up the road trip.

“We’re about to get some dogs back in [Rodriguez and Kelly],” Montgomery said. “I got to hang out with them when I was on the injured list and got to see their progression. I think we’re in a great spot.”