NEW YORK -- Jordan Montgomery took a deep breath and exhaled. It was the look of a college student after handing in his final exam.
Montgomery had just set a new career-high in strikeouts in the Yankees' 6-2 win over the Orioles at Yankee Stadium on Friday. When he fanned Ruben Tejada to finish the seventh inning, it concluded perhaps the best start of his fledging big-league career.
The 24-year-old rookie improved to 4-4 and dropped his ERA to 3.55 in 11 starts, and he had some backup.
Center fielder Aaron Hicks continued to stack his All-Star case, smashing two homers to left field.