Jordan Montgomery will make his team debut for the Texas Rangers when he takes the mound against the visiting Miami Marlins in the opener of their three-game series on Friday night in Arlington, Texas
Montgomery, a 30-year-old left-hander, was acquired in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday, a day after the Rangers acquired another veteran starting pitcher, three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, from the New York Mets
Scherzer won his Rangers debut on Thursday afternoon, allowing three runs and seven hits in six innings of a 5-3 win that completed a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox
"You acquire two starters and it creates some competition," Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. "That's a good thing.
The Rangers are going all out in their bid to go deep into the postseason. They haven't qualified since 2016 and haven't won a playoff series since 2011
Montgomery (6-9, 3.42 ERA) had a five-start streak from June 20 to July 18 in which he allowed one run or fewer in each, but wasn't as effective in his past two outings, losing both to the Chicago Cubs
Still, the Rangers liked what they saw
"Jordan Montgomery is having a tremendous year," Rangers general manager Chris Young said. "We felt like he was one of the better starters on the market. And given where we are, we needed to continue to upgrade our rotation.
Montgomery pitched for the New York Yankees from 2017 until he was traded for outfielder Harrison Bader a year ago. Montgomery signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals in the offseason for $10 million
He's made two starts against Miami in his career and is 0-0 with a 1.64 ERA. Montgomery faced the Marlins on July 18 and held them to one run and six hits in six innings of a 5-2 win in 10 innings
The Marlins are coming off a 4-2 loss to the visiting Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday afternoon, their third setback in the four-game series
Florida went 4-for-34 with runners in scoring position in the series
"That's kind of been the theme, a little bit, after the All-Star break," Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. "Once we get that big hit, you start putting crooked numbers up and feel good about guys on base a little bit more.
Schumaker said the Florida lineup beefed up with the additions of first baseman Josh Bell (Cleveland Guardians) and third baseman Jake Burger (White Sox) at the trade deadline
"Our lineup is much deeper with (Jesus) Sanchez and (Bryan De La Cruz) now in the 6-7 (spots in the lineup), they were 3-4 (previously)," Schumaker said. "We have a much deeper lineup and I think you'll see a lot more hits with runners in scoring position throughout the year.
The Marlins plan to start left-hander Jesus Luzardo on Friday
Luzardo (8-5, 3.38) went 2-0 last month with a 2.89 ERA, though he's been saddled with three straight no-decisions
He had his most difficult outing of July in his last start on Sunday, allowing four runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings against the visiting Detroit Tigers, but the Marlins rallied from a 4-0 deficit to win 8-6
Luzardo has made four appearances against the Rangers in his career, including two starts, and is 0-1 with a 2.30 ERA
--Field Level Medi