For seven innings, this game belonged to the pitchers. Then Colson Montgomery ended the quiet with one swing.
Montgomery's 402-foot home run to right in the eighth inning broke a 1-1 tie and gave the Chicago White Sox a lead they would not relinquish, as they defeated the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 at Progressive Field on July 4. Montgomery finished 2-for-5 with a double, a home run, and 2 RBI — the two biggest hits of the game. He carries a .221 average with 22 home runs and 51 RBI on the season.
The game's opening run came on a throwing error. In the first inning, C. Montgomery doubled to left and Vargas scored on the error, putting Chicago ahead 1-0. Cleveland answered in the fifth when Austin Hedges homered to center — 388 feet — to tie the game at 1-1. That score held through the seventh. Then Montgomery's go-ahead blast in the eighth restored Chicago's lead, and Miguel Vargas added insurance in the ninth with a sacrifice fly to right that scored Tristan Peters, making it 3-1.
Sean Burke was the story before Montgomery's bat took over. The right-hander worked 6.0 innings, allowing 1 run on 7 hits with 11 strikeouts and no walks on 95 pitches. He did not factor in the decision. Brandon Eisert followed with 2.0 scoreless innings, striking out two, and earned the win to improve to 2-1. Grant Taylor worked the ninth for his third save. For Cleveland, Parker Messick gave up 1 run over 5.0 innings with 3 strikeouts and 3 walks. Tim Herrin allowed the go-ahead home run in the eighth and took the loss, falling to 1-4.
The White Sox dropped to 45-42 with the win, snapping a three-game losing streak. Cleveland fell to 47-42, ending a three-game winning streak and dropping from the top of the division standings. Tim Herrin is 9 games away from 200 career appearances.