Gamecock great Jordan Montgomery earns first MLB win

Jordan Montgomery took a shutout into the seventh inning for his first major league win, Matt Holliday homered in his return to the lineup and the New York Yankees romped to their eighth consecutive victory by beating the Chicago White Sox 7-4 on Monday night.

Holliday put the Yankees ahead with a titanic three-run shot in a five-run third inning, and Aaron Judge added a two-run homer that chased Derek Holland (1-2) with the score 7-0 in the fifth. New York has rebounded from a 1-4 start with its longest winning streak since a 10-game run in June 2012.

Making his second career start, Montgomery (1-0) immediately found himself in a first-inning jam. But the 24-year-old lefty calmly pitched his way out of it by retiring cleanup hitter Jose Abreu and streaking Avisail Garcia with runners at second and third.

Montgomery struck out four and allowed seven hits and three earned runs in the win.

The former South Carolina pitcher made his debut with the Yankees last week.

In three seasons with the Gamecocks, Montgomery went 20-7 with a 2.87 ERA in 44 games. He struck out 212 and walked only 57. He was a fourth-round pick in the 2014 draft.

Montgomery is the 49^th South Carolina alum to make it to the majors.

This story was originally published April 17, 2017 at 10:34 PM with the headline "Gamecock great Jordan Montgomery earns first MLB win."