Colson Montgomery's 391-Foot Blast Flips the Script for Chicago

Colson Montgomery hit a three-run homer to right — 391 feet — in the third inning that turned a 2-2 tie into a 5-2 Chicago lead that Cleveland never recovered from. The White Sox held on to win 5-3, handing the Guardians a loss despite another solid night from Jose Ramirez.

Cleveland came out swinging in the first. Ramirez singled to right, and Kwan scored when the right fielder — B. Montgomery — committed a fielding error, with DeLauter reaching third on the same miscue. A sacrifice fly from Lowe plated DeLauter, and just like that the Guardians were up 2-0 before Chicago had settled in. The White Sox clawed one back in the same inning when Murakami doubled to center to score Doyle, making it 2-1. It was a chaotic, sloppy first frame — and it set the tone for a game that looked like it could go either way.

Then came the third inning, and Colson Montgomery ended the suspense. Grichuk doubled to left to score Vargas and tie the game at 2-2. Two batters later, Montgomery launched a 391-foot homer to right, scoring Grichuk and B. Montgomery with it. That three-run shot swung Chicago's win probability from 59% to 86% — a 26-point lurch that, in hindsight, looks like the moment this game was decided. Montgomery finished 1-for-3 with 3 RBI and a run scored. For a White Sox offense that has had its share of quiet nights, that's the kind of performance that stands out.

Cleveland's pitching staff kept things respectable after that — Tim Herrin, Colin Holderman, and Hunter Gaddis each worked into the game without allowing an earned run — but the offense couldn't generate enough to close the gap. Ramirez went 2-for-3 with an RBI, including a ninth-inning sacrifice fly that scored Genao to make it 3-5, but DeLauter stranded at third is where the rally died. Kwan went 2-for-5 and scored a run, and Doyle matched him with a 2-for-5 night for Chicago. The story of the night, though, was Montgomery's third-inning explosion. Chicago's starter Hagen Smith was wild — 4 walks in just 2.0 innings — but the offense bailed him out in decisive fashion. The White Sox win 5-3.