Montgomery (6-4) blew the save and took the loss Saturday as the Pirates fell 4-3 to the Tigers, giving up three runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning. He struck out one.
The southpaw was the seventh pitcher of the afternoon for Pittsburgh in a bullpen day, but Montgomery couldn't protect a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the ninth inning, instead watching Eduardo Valencia walk it off with a two-run homer. It was Montgomery's third blown save of the season and his first since becoming the Bucs' primary closer after the All-Star break, ending a stretch of 17 straight conversions. Montgomery boasts a 2.93 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 103:26 K:BB in 67.2 innings during a breakout campaign.