Montgomery finds new appreciation for Spring Training

PHOENIX -- If it did nothing else, Jordan Montgomery's free agency, which lasted throughout the entire offseason and spring, gave the left-hander a different perspective on the value of Spring Training.

"I used to hate Spring Training," Montgomery said. "And now I'm like, I love Spring Training."

While waiting to sign a contract, Montgomery threw in simulated games, trying to imitate what it would be like had he been in Spring Training. Then, when he signed with the D-backs one day after the regular season opened, he threw three Minor League games.

And while his initial results this year haven't been bad, Montgomery, a bit of a perfectionist, hasn't felt good about where his stuff was. He knew they could be better, whether it was a changeup that cuts or a breaking ball that doesn't have the right shape, even when the results were OK.

"It's been a battle out there, for sure," Montgomery said.

Saturday night against the Marlins, Montgomery said his stuff was sharper. He allowed just two runs while taking only 77 pitches to complete six innings.

"I'm starting to kind of feel like myself out there again," Montgomery said. "I'm just going to keep laser focused in my 'pens and toss, and try to keep this rhythm. I think we're finally kind of getting in the right direction."

So, too, are the D-backs. They won, 3-2, against the Marlins at Chase Field for the third time in their last four games as they inch closer to .500 with a 25-27 record.

Montgomery's velocity on his fastball is still not quite where it was last year, but it is climbing. That's something that pitchers usually see during Spring Training instead of in the regular season, but that was a luxury that Montgomery didn't have.

"I think there's so many things that Spring Training does for you," said veteran catcher Tucker Barnhart, who was behind the plate. "I think that you just don't realize in terms of just building up your arm, building up your swing from an offensive side. Just getting your sea legs under you, playing every single day, and just going about your routine every single day. It takes a buildup. We talked real briefly after he came out of the game, Jordan and I, about just kind of keep stacking these like positive steps."

Montgomery doesn't want to look back on the whole free-agency process, but he does have a new appreciation for what those six weeks in the spring can do for a pitcher.

Instead of having meaningless Cactus or Grapefruit League games to prepare for the season, he jumped right into the pool's deep end. He was able to stay afloat, but he's hoping for calmer waters ahead.

"I knew [the velocity] was going to get there eventually," he said. "When you're out there trying to pull it for extra velo, it's never going to be there. The smoother I am, the more it'll get there. I mean, that's what spring's for. You go out there and you give up seven, but everything is fine. It doesn't matter. You just go back out there. I did my best to be ready. I'm happy I could go out there every five days and at least give the team a chance to win. Hopefully, I can do that even more now."

With Montgomery keeping things close, the D-backs offense did just enough to win after getting shut out by Braxton Garrett on Friday night. This time, they had better approaches against Miami starter Sixto Sánchez.

"I think we weren't trying to do too much per at-bat," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "We wanted to get the ball on the plate. He's got really good stuff, and he's unpredictable, and you can see him throw any pitch at any time. So I think we waited him out until we got the pitch we were looking for."