TAMPA, Fla. -- Jordan Montgomery bounced back from a shaky four-homer performance in his most recent appearance to retire all 12 batters he faced in the Yankees' 4-2 loss to the Blue Jays on Tuesday, striking out five as he continues to build his case to open the season as New York's fourth starter.

Montgomery followed starter Gerrit Cole and reliever Dan Otero, and manager Aaron Boone said that the left-hander was so efficient that he had to throw another 10 or 11 pitches in the bullpen to reach his intended pitch count.

• 'Game-like' mix sees Cole bring triple-digit heat

“We've been really excited from the get-go with him, from the bullpens to his uptick in velocity,” Boone said. “The curveball was good, the changeup was good. You saw even a couple of at-bats where he was behind in the count, just not real comfortable swings even on his fastball, then he finished off the outing with that cutter. There's a lot to be excited about with Monty.”

Montgomery’s breezy performance reduced his spring ERA to 4.09, a number that was inflated by serving up four long balls to the Tigers on a windswept afternoon in Lakeland, Fla., last week. Boone said that he believes Montgomery’s increased offseason training has helped him push forward, putting his 2018 Tommy John surgery in the rear-view mirror.

“From a body standpoint, he's in a better place physically than I've ever seen him,” Boone said. “I think it's apparent when you visually check him out. I think he's more physically imposing now, and it's showing with the velo.”

Progress report
Giancarlo Stanton said that his recovery from a Grade 1 right calf strain is “progressing forward” as the slugger aims to return to the big league outfield sometime in the first month of the regular season.

“We're about to run outside, [Wednesday] or the next day,” Stanton said on Tuesday. “I’m still on the Alter-G [anti-gravity treadmill] program. I've been throwing; hitting has been fine. It's good. It's in the right direction.”

Stanton sustained the injury on Feb. 25 while participating in outfield drills at George M. Steinbrenner Field. The 30-year-old was limited to 18 regular-season games last year due to left biceps, left shoulder, left calf, right knee and right quadriceps issues, batting .288/.403/.492 with three homers and 13 RBIs.

“Just take it day by day, keep pushing forward,” Stanton said.

Work in progress
Shortstop Gleyber Torres threw wildly to first base on a second-inning Teoscar Hernández grounder, earning his fifth error of the spring. Randal Grichuk was also credited with a questionable hit on a first-inning ball hit toward Torres that led to a Toronto run.

“I'm really not worried about it,” Boone said. “The work has been good. I think that'll be something that cleans itself up as we continue to go, as he gets more regular reps.”

Comeback trail
Right-hander Ben Heller made his spring debut on Tuesday, allowing two runs and two hits in two-thirds of an inning. Heller, who pitched to a 1.23 ERA in 7 1/3 innings for New York last season and had been considered a strong contender to begin the season in the bullpen, was delayed by a lower back issue.

Up next
The Yankees will hit the highway for two games on Florida’s East Coast beginning Wednesday, when they’ll visit the Marlins for a 1:05 p.m. ET contest in Jupiter, Fla. Right-hander Deivi Garcia, the Yankees’ No. 3 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, is set to make his third Grapefruit League start in front of a lineup that will include Miguel Andújar, Clint Frazier, Mike Tauchman and Gio Urshela. Right-hander Sandy Alcantara is scheduled to start for Miami. Fans can watch the game live on MLB Network and MLB.TV.