MIAMI — The Chicago White Sox needed a jolt after being outscored 20-3 in their first two games of the season against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Shortstop Colson Montgomery provided an instant pick-me-up on Sunday at American Family Field in Milwaukee, blasting a grand slam in the first inning.
“It starts with the guys in front of me,” Montgomery said after the game. “We had a good game plan with (Brewers starter Brandon Sproat). We were trying to keep him in the zone. If we kept him in the zone, we were able to do some damage with him.
“(The previous batters) weren’t really trying to do too much. (Sproat) really wasn’t throwing anything over the plate for anybody. We were taking our walks.”
Chase Meidroth and Munetaka Murakami walked. Miguel Vargas reached on a bloop single to load the bases for Montgomery.
“You don’t want to be passive, so (Vargas) comes up and he takes a big hack, too. We are still on the attack,” Montgomery said. “We are still trying to do damage. I had the same thing in my head. Went up there to do damage. Went up to get the ball in the air, do whatever I could, he threw me a good pitch to do it on.”
Colson Montgomery of the Chicago White Sox singles in a run in the second inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on March 29, 2026, in Milwaukee, Wis. (John Fisher/Getty Images)
Montgomery connected on a first-pitch cutter for his second career grand slam. It was the first home run of the season for the 24-year-old, who hit 21 home runs in 71 games as a rookie in 2025.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Montgomery became the fastest player in Sox history to record his first two career grand slams, doing so in 74 games. He surpassed Alexei Ramírez, who recorded his first two career slams over his first 97 games in 2008.
Montgomery drove in another run in the second inning on Sunday with a single. Montgomery tied a career high with five RBIs while going 2-for-3 with a walk, but the Sox couldn’t hold on to the big lead and suffered a 9-7 loss.
The next test started Monday as the Sox began a three-game road series against the Miami Marlins. Montgomery entered the series 3-for-10 after the first three games of the young season.
“He’s been really good,” manager Will Venable said before Monday’s game. “He’s got his bat moving, looks dangerous again.”
Montgomery went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts on opening day. He drew a walk in the fifth inning Saturday against Aaron Ashby, laying off some tough pitches.
“It was that walk, and then a good base hit against a tough lefty (in Angel Zerpa during the seventh inning), that was really nice to see,” Venable said. “And then obviously (Sunday) he had a great day. So, yeah, it seems like he’s in a good spot. All series, made good swing decisions for the most part. But now he’s got the barrel moving pretty good right now.”
Montgomery has also been steady defensively, whether at shortstop or third base, where he started on Monday.
“It goes back to before the game,” Montgomery said. “I’m taking ground balls at short and third and challenging myself. I’m trying to challenge myself with my work with the ground balls. Kind of just replicate things that might happen in a game. Slow choppers and things like that.
“(Infield coach Justin Jirschele) and everybody else do a good job of positioning me really well, too. It’s really just being an athlete and I think that’s what I’ve been doing.”
At the plate, Montgomery focused on getting back to his game plan throughout the series.
“These first three games, you are coming out here and you’ve got the big crowds and things like that,” Montgomery said. “You are not really used to it, so you kind of get out of your game plan and you are doing a little too much.
“That’s what I felt. Really wasn’t sticking to my game plan. Wasn’t staying within myself.”
Montgomery said he reminded himself, “just keep getting better.”
“Keep trying to control things I can control,” he said. “It led to seeing the ball a lot better and making better decisions. It kind of led to (Sunday).”
After the three tough games in Milwaukee, the Sox turned their attention to the Marlins.
“We did a lot of really good things (in the Milwaukee) series and we did some things that we need to improve on,” Montgomery said. “It’s why you play 162 games, you keep getting better.”