Starting pitcher Frankie Montas sparked concerns among New York Mets fans when he surrendered six runs on seven hits over four innings of work in this past Sunday’s 12-1 blowout loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Montas believes he and the Mets know what went wrong on that afternoon.
MLB insider Andy Martino of SNY revealed on Wednesday that Montas admitted he was tipping his pitches in his regular-season debut versus the Atlanta Braves on June 24 and against the Pirates. Montas, who previously missed time because of a high-grade lat strain he suffered during spring training, gave the Mets five scoreless innings against Atlanta.
“The Braves swung at just one of the nine splitters he threw — a strong indicator that they knew what was coming,” Martino said about Montas. “Then, after Montas’ first few pitches on Sunday, folks on the Mets bench noticed that runners on second base were picking up a tell on Montas’ sliders and/or sweepers, and using a signal to relay their findings to the batter.”
According to Martino, Montas “believes that he has addressed the tells” on his splitters and breaking balls.
Montas signed a two-year, $34M deal with the Mets this past December and, along with Griffin Canning, was viewed as a project who would benefit from working with the club’s well-known “pitching lab.” The Amazins now need Montas to find his best form as quickly as possible if they are to rediscover the winning ways that made them a first-place team in the spring.
Once 45-24, the Mets fell to 48-38 until they earned a 7-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night. Per Alex Smith of SNY, the Mets had a starter pitch into the sixth inning just once across 17 days before they used an opener on Wednesday evening. Roger Rubin of SNY noted that lefty Sean Manaea (oblique, bone chip in elbow) will need at least one more rehab start before he’s ready to make his big-league season debut. Tylor Megill hasn’t pitched since June 14 because of a right elbow sprain. Ace Kodai Senga went down with a hamstring strain on June 12 but could begin a rehab assignment soon. Canning is out for the season due to a ruptured left Achilles.
Danny Abriano of SNY posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) that Montas will start this Saturday’s home game versus the New York Yankees. That outing will give the 32-year-old an opportunity to show that his nightmare performance in Pittsburgh was simply a blip on the radar.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
