Rafael Montero made his first start for the Las Vegas 51’s, since being sent down from the New York Mets.  Montero would deal with his share of struggles throughout the start, but would leave with the lead.

Montero struggled in his first stint in the major leagues because he was having a  difficult time throwing strikes.  He would have similar issues at times on Tuesday, although he threw over 60% of his pitches for strikes.  He would be pulled in the sixth inning at 99 pitches with the bases loaded.  Lucky for Montero, Joel Carreno came in and was able to get Reno’s Danny Dorn to hit into an inning-ending double play.  Montero can only win this game as the score was 4-3.

It remains to be seen how Montero will deal with the promotion/demotion, and as expected growing pains are to be had, but at this stage there really is nothing for Mets fans to worry about.  Obviously everyone wanted Montero to get to New York and dominate, but the reality of it is he may just need a bit more time to figure out his game and learn to pitch at the higher level.

Montero’s fastball was living around 94 MPH area which is nice, but the controlling of his other pitches needs to be something he continues working on until his next call-up.

The final pitching line for the night for Montero: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 5K – 99 pitches 63 strikes

Montero’s next start could possibly be on Monday June 9th at Colorado Springs.