Montgomery 'invaluable' out of Chicago Cubs' bullpen

Left-hander Mike Montgomery was one of the better under-the-radar pickups of 2016 when the Chicago Cubs obtained him in a July 20 trade with Seattle.

In Monday night's series opener against Miami, Montgomery recorded his second save of the season. He pitched 3⅓ innings in relief of starter Eddie Butler. On May 25, Montgomery worked the final 4 innings to save a game started by Butler against the San Francisco Giants.

According to the Cubs and CSN Chicago, Montgomery is the first pitcher with multiple saves with at least 10 outs since Boston's Alfredo Aceves in 2011.

The Cubs have not yet decided when or if they will drop a sixth starting pitcher into the rotation, but Montgomery would be the likely candidate.

"He showed that last year; he could be a very good major-league starter," manager Joe Maddon said. "What he's doing for us right now is invaluable out of the bullpen.

"The wonderful part of it is he accepts all this. He understands all this. He's not a bellyacher. He doesn't complain about this. He knows what he's doing right now is very vital to our success.

"Eventually, he's going to get that chance to start at some point. He's got four quality pitches. He gets righties and lefties out. He's got plenty of velocity. The last step with him for me is command of his fastball. Once he really understands and gets that, he's going to really take off."

Montgomery has walked 20 in 36⅔ innings this season.

Using the ninth spot:

Joe Maddon has used the ninth spot in the batting order to try to help struggling hitters. For the past few days, it was Kyle Schwarber.

For Tuesday's game, Schwarber was out of the lineup against Marlins lefty Jeff Locke. So into the No. 9 spot went shortstop Addison Russell, who entered the game with a line of .213/.296/.343.

"Just trying to get him a better pitch," Maddon said. "It's just been working out well. I like the pitcher in the eighth spot for pinch-hitting purposes also. But then again, if you're trying to get somebody a better pitch, put him in the 9-hole."

Bruised but OK:

There was a bit of concern during Tuesday's batting practice when Albert Almora Jr. ran into the wall while tracking a flyball. He walked off the field with the athletic trainer and suffered what the Cubs said was a bruised right forearm. He remained in the starting lineup.

Dad Davis is back:

Closer Wade Davis returned to the team after one day on the paternity list. His wife, Katelyn, gave birth to a boy. The Cubs optioned reliever Dylan Floro back to Class AAA Iowa. Floro had been called up Monday.