NEW YORK — The Yankees’ hitters played catch up with Jordan Montgomery on Tuesday night. After leaving the lefty hanging with minuscule run support, they owed him and seemingly paid up all his runs for May in his last start of the month. His catcher, Jose Trevino, led the way with three hits, including his third home run of the season, in a 9-1 win over the Angels at Yankee Stadium.
Ex-Mets starter Noah Syndergaard was roughed up in his return to New York, but Montgomery held up his end with a season- and career-high-tying seven efficient innings, holding the Angels’ dangerous duo of Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani off the board.
That snapped a two-game losing streak for the Yankees (34-15), who have lost back-to-back games only three times this season and have lost three straight only once.
Montgomery held the Angels to a run on four hits, allowing a solo shot to Luis Rengifo in the seventh. He walked a batter and struck out four. The lefty got nine swings-and-misses, four on his curveball. Montgomery threw 87 pitches, one shy of his season high.
Trevino went deep to left field in the eighth, after Montgomery had done his job for the night, giving him a career-high tying three hits on the night. It was the sixth time he’s had a three-hit night, the last time ending with his walk-off homer against the Orioles May 24. Trevino has 12 RBIs on the season
Matt Carpenter, who the Yankees signed on Thursday while they were in St. Petersburg, Fla., playing the Rays, introduced himself at the Stadium with flair Tuesday. The lefty-hitting infielder took advantage of the short porch in right field with a 356-foot shot off Syndergaard in the second inning.
Gleyber Torres went 2 for 4 with an RBI. It was the fourth time this season Joey Gallo, hitting in the ninth spot again, had multiple hits.
Syndergaard’s first trip back to New York after six years as one of the Mets’ aces was not exactly welcoming. Without the velocity that made him a legend in Queens (his fastball topped out at 95.7 miles per hour) his stuff was flat and hittable.
And the Yankees hit him hard.
Syndergaard was chased after just 2 1/3 innings having allowed five runs on seven hits. He walked one and did not record a strikeout. The 29-year old managed just one swing-and-miss on his curveball.
He also had some help imploding with less than stellar defense behind him.
He gave up an RBI-double to Anthony Rizzo, whose fly ball got past a diving Trout in right center field. Trout slipped on Torres’ RBI-double. Carpenter homered in his first at-bat wearing pinstripes in the Bronx for two more runs on the board.
In the second inning, DJ LeMahieu doubled in a run.
The Yankees scored two more in the sixth, one when Trevino avoided Max Stassi’s tag on LeMahieu’s fielder’s choice groundball to second base. The second run came on Aaron Judge’s sacrifice fly when Trout air mailed the throw home.
Montgomery was probably shocked when he took the mound in the second inning with four runs to work with. The left-hander had received three runs or less of support in eight of his first nine starts this season or two runs or less in seven. On average, the Yankees have scored 3.11 runs while Montgomery has been on the mound. The last time he had seven runs scored for him was April 5, 2021 against the Orioles.
That explains why Montgomery, who has pitched well this season, went into Tuesday night’s game with a 0-1 record despite a 3.30 ERA.
He also got some defensive help.
Judge, playing center field with Aaron Hicks sitting on Tuesday, robbed Ohtani in the first inning. The 6-foot-7 Judge leapt at the left-center field wall to pull back a 413-foot fly ball.
Miguel Castro pitched out of trouble in the eighth after giving up a leadoff double to former Mets outfielder Juan Lagares, followed by a single to Bronx-born and bred former Yankees Andrew Velazquez. Castro struck out Taylor Ward and got flyouts from Ohtani and Trout. David McKay finished it off.
