South Carolina Baseball: Gamecock legend flirts with no-hitter against Yankees
By Kevin Miller
Jordan Montgomery was one of the best starting pitchers in the country during his time as a member of the South Carolina baseball team. The big left-handed hurler was excellent on the mound for the Gamecocks, finishing his career in garnet and black with a 2.87 ERA and 1.12 WHIP.
The All-SEC lefty had more career wins for South Carolina baseball than he had home runs allowed (20 wins vs. 13 home runs allowed), and he transitioned some of that success to his professional career.
Monty has put together a solid 7-year career with the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals, and he does not seem to be slowing down. He is in the middle of his third-straight season with a sub-4.00 ERA and has been a bright spot on a bad Cardinals team in 2023.
For his career, Montgomery has struck out more batters than he has surrendered hits, and his ability to limit the other team from hitting the baseball was on full display on Sunday when the man nicknamed Gumby flirted with history against his former team.
Montgomery matched up with the New York Yankees in a start in St. Louis and carved up the Bronx Bombers. Carrying a no-hit bid into the 6th inning, the Cardinal lefty finished his day with 6 and 2/3 innings pitched, 0 earned runs, only 2 hits allowed, and 6 strikeouts as his St. Louis squad picked up the victory (and the series win) by a 5-1 score.
The performance was additionally demoralizing to a Yankee club that sits 10 games out of first place in the AL East. New York gave up Montgomery at the 2022 trade deadline and received outfielder Harrison Bader in return.
Bader has only suited up for the Yankees for 50 total games since the trade as he has battled injuries while Montgomery has been healthy and very consistent for the Cards.