Montgomery homers to break tie, White Sox beat Guardians 3-1 to retake AL Central lead

By: Brian Dulik, The Associated Press Posted: 9:01 PM CDT Saturday, Jul. 4, 2026

CLEVELAND (AP) — Colson Montgomery hit a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning off Tim Herrin for the second of his two RBIs, helping the Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 on Saturday night.

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Chicago reclaimed first place in the AL Central by percentage points over the Guardians, who won the first two games of the series on walk-off hits.

Montgomery, who leads all shortstops with 22 homers, led off the eighth with a 402-foot shot to center off Herrin (1-4). It came on the first anniversary of his major league debut and gave the White Sox a 2-1 lead.

Chicago White Sox's Colson Montgomery celebreates in the duogut after hitting a home run in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

All-Star Miguel Vargas tacked on a sacrifice fly against Matt Festa in the ninth, scoring Tristan Peters with an insurance run.

Brandon Eisert (2-1) earned the win with two clean innings of relief, while Grant Taylor worked the ninth for his third save in six opportunities. Taylor allowed Brayan Rocchio’s game-ending two-run homer Friday.

The White Sox went up 1-0 in the first on Montgomery’s double off Parker Messick, scoring Vargas. It was the only run allowed in five innings by Messick, a rookie who was chosen for the All-Star Game.

Australian second baseman Travis Bazzana and closer Cade Smith were also named All-Stars from the Guardians, while first baseman Vargas was the only Chicago selection.

Austin Hedges belted a solo homer to center in the fifth against White Sox starter Sean Burke, tying it at 1. Burke struck out a career-high 11 over seven innings without a walk.

Guardians rookie Cooper Ingle, who threw a live ball into the stands to allow the go-ahead run to score on June 30 against Texas, committed his third error in four games as a left fielder.

Up next

White Sox RHP Erick Fedde (3-6, 4.41 ERA) was set to oppose RHP Tanner Bibee (2-9, 3.69) on Sunday in the series finale.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb