Jordan Montgomery, Zach Eflin Tabbed For The New York, Philadelphia Finale
Jordan Montgomery who is a left handed pitcher for the team that wears the pinstripes will be making only his second start of the season in the finale of the four game series between New York and Philadelphia on Thursday night in Philadelphia.
Why?
Because he recently returned to the starting rotation after recovering from Tommy John Surgery.
What is Tommy John Surgery?
It’s where they repair the ulnar collateral ligament -- the band connecting your upper arm bone to your forearm bone (which, as you might imagine, gets pulled and stretched each time you throw a baseball). But as he took a look inside, he realized something: After years of wear, John didn't have any UCL left to repair.
So Jobe got creative: He harvested a ligament from John’s right wrist and used it as a UCL substitute. It was a fairly common procedure on wrists and hands, but it had never been tried with an elbow -- much less the elbow of a Major League pitcher. When John woke up, he found himself in the middle of history. Since no one had ever had this surgery before, no one knew how to rehab from it. But John set to work, exercising seven days a week, and eventually the results began to show: By June of 1975 he’d regained feeling in his fingers, and by July he was throwing batting practice again (the full 60 feet this time). By the winter, he was pitching to real, live hitters again, which meant that there was only one more hurdle to clear: Against all odds, John was set to become a Major League pitcher again.But John didn’t just make it back to the big leagues. He looked … well, like Tommy John. He threw 207 solid innings in 1976, then finished second in NL Cy Young voting in 1977. Naturally, word spread: He was a medical marvel, the man who’d come back from a place that no pitcher had managed to make it back from, and soon enough stars from Tom Candiotti to Paul Molitor sought out Dr. Jobe.John himself, meanwhile, kept on pitching until age 46, and while his elbow stayed sturdy, his defense did slip a bit:It’s hard to overstate the impact John and Jobe have had on the game. As of 2019, more than 500 Major League players have undergone Tommy John surgery, plus countless more in the Minor Leagues. It’s extended some legendary careers and allowed others to blossom. Without it, we might never have heard the name Jacob deGrom, who underwent TJ (as it's now colloquially called) in 2010 while in rookie ball. We might never have gotten the Flu Game from Stephen Strasburg, who went under the knife after just 12 electrifying MLB starts.And as the procedure has spread, its prognosis has improved dramatically. While John was essentially flying blind during his rehab, never knowing if he'd ever even pick up a ball again, these days there's a fairly standard recovery process: Pitchers still miss a significant chunk of time, but most are expected to return without much, if any, loss of velocity or stuff. So while we hope no pitcher ever needs it, it's nice to know the days of career-ending "sore arms" are behind us -- and we've got John to thank. “according to an article by Chris Landers on mlb.com
Jordan Montgomery comes into the finale of the four game series with a record of 1-0 with an earn run average of 1.59. Even without his best stuff, Montgomery was effective in his season debut, limiting the Red Sox to a solo homer over 5 2/3 innings to earn his first Major League win since 2018. Montgomery tossed 81 pitches and should increase to about 95. He will oppose Philadelphia’’s Zach Eflin who unlike Jordan Montgomery is a right handed pitcher. Zach Eflin comes into the finale of the four game series with a record of 0-0 and no earn run average. Eflin is the Phillies’ No. 4 starter, but he is making his season debut Thursday because of eight postponements, either related to COVID-19 precautions or weather. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/roster/probable-pitchers
However, there is a possibility that mother nature could possibly get in the way of the finale . Why? Because their is a 47% chance of rain at first pitch. “according to https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/philadelphia/19102/hourly-weather-forecast/350540
New York who is a member of the American League East comes into the finale of the four game series with a record of 9-2 while Philadelphia who is a member of the National League East comes into the game with a record of 2-4. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/standings
In this game New York will look to win the series while Philadelphia will look to earn a split.
As for the doubleheader on Wednesday,
New York and Philadelphia ended up splitting the doubleheader.
Why?
Because in the first game of the doubleheader J.A. Happ who started the game struggled in an 11-7 loss.
J.A. Happ who is a left hander couldn’t throw strikes but also kept missing the plate. Three of the next four hitters he faced drew walks, forcing in a run. Jean Segura then scored the go-ahead run on a fielder’s choice by Roman Quinn.”according to an article by Bill Ladson on mlb.com
Along with that Philadelphia scored six runs off right handed reliever Nick Nelson and it took Luis Cessa to stop the bleeding when he got Jay Bruce to ground out to end the inning.Bill Ladson on mlb.com
In the second game New York bounced back and earned a split of the doubleheader in Philadelphia.
How?.
Luke Voit hit a home run while Mike Tauchman delivered a tiebreaking hit as the Yankees defeated the Phillies, 3-1, in the second game of a seven-inning doubleheader on Wednesday evening at Citizens Bank Park. “according to an article by Bryan Hoch
While Philadelphia had a setback in the second game of the doubleheader.
Why?
Because Philadelphia right handed pitcher Tommy Hunter allowed five consecutive batters to reach base: a single to Giancarlo Stanton, a single to Luke Voit, a double to Mike Tauchman, Gary Sanchez was hit by a pitch and a single to Gio Urshela. Two runs scored.”according to an article by Todd Zolecki on mlb.com
First pitch is set for 6:05pm from Citzens Bank Park.
The game will be televised on Yes and NBCSP+