TAMPA, Fla. — Colson Montgomery hit a screamer down the right-field line leading off the top of the seventh inning Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Rays.
He had a good sense off the bat that the ball was going to stay fair and leave the yard.
It did, giving the Chicago White Sox 2021 first-round draft pick his first major-league home run.
“When it’s a one-run, two-run ballgame, you’re kind of just trying to get something rolling for the guys,” Montgomery said. “If that’s a walk or a good at-bat or a hard hit, anything like that. That was kind of my mindset going in there.
“I really wasn’t trying to do too much. I was getting jammed the whole day, so I knew I kind of had to try and get out front of something, and he threw something I was able to handle.”
The solo blast against reliever Bryan Baker came in a 4-3 loss in front of a sellout crowd of 10,046 at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
“I wouldn’t really say I was pressing about getting my first big-league homer,” Montgomery said. “I was leading off that inning, so I just knew I had to kind of get on base, do whatever I could for the guys to get something rolling. Laid off a good pitch previous, and then he threw me a fastball down the middle and I was able to catch it out front.”
The Sox couldn’t completely dig out of a four-run hole as they saw their season-high four-game winning streak come to an end.
Chicago White Sox pitcher Davis Martin throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays Tuesday, July 22, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Sox starter Davis Martin allowed four runs (three earned) on three hits with three strikeouts and four walks in five innings in his return from the injured list.
“Outside of the (four-run) second inning, I was very pleased with how everything was,” Martin said. “Not only stuff-wise, velocity, how I felt. Erase the second inning, I was very happy.”
It was Martin’s first big-league start since June 12 at Houston. The Sox had retroactively placed the right-hander on the 15-day injured list on June 17 with a right forearm strain.
He had a perfect first inning, but ran into trouble during the second. The Rays loaded the bases with one out when Martin got called for a balk, bringing home the first run.
José Caballero followed with a two-run single, making it to third base on a throwing error by center fielder Michael A. Taylor.
Caballero scored on a Taylor Walls groundout.
“Second inning, that was a tough inning,” Venable said. “Just lost the zone there. We’ve seen Davis throughout the season pound the zone. Just lost control there for a little bit, command of his pitches and then a bad defensive play where we didn’t do our job. Just overall kind of a rough inning that made the difference in the game.”
Martin allowed two hits in his final three innings.
“(Pitching coach Ethan) Katz and I looked at it in between innings and we were crazy over-rotating on the front side,” Martin said. “Once we fixed that, everything was right where we wanted it to be. I hated it had to take three walks and four runs to learn it, but we learned it.”
The Sox scored twice in the fourth to cut the deficit in half. Mike Tauchman doubled and scored on a Chase Meidroth single. Meidroth later scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Edgar Quero.
Montgomery’s home run on a 1-1 fastball got the Sox within 4-3 in the seventh.
“It was awesome,” Venable said of the home run. “He’s put himself in a really good spot, continuing to be on time and take good swings. He’s controlling the zone. To have the slug, that’s what we need. So really nice to see him get that first one.”
The home run came in yet another one-run loss. The Sox are 8-23 in one-run games.
“I thought (the team’s offensive approach) was good,” Venable said. “After the first inning, really the first time through our order, I think it was tough to see early and the second time around we got some good swings off.
“Was really happy with the offensive effort, just continuing to grind. (The Rays have) some really good arms over there. I thought we were in a good spot offensively, just not enough.”
Originally Published: July 22, 2025 at 9:55 PM CDT