DENVER — Ryan Ritter hit a floater into shallow left field.
It looked like a sure RBI single for the Colorado Rockies shortstop.
Chicago White Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery sprinted back and made a remarkable, twisting, over-the-shoulder, diving catch for the final out of the second inning.
“I tried doing a normal over-the-shoulder catch, but then my body got turned over,” Montgomery said. “I don’t even know how I caught it, to be honest.”
It was a signature moment in Montgomery’s major-league debut. His defense stood out for the Sox in a 3-2 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 48,064 on the Fourth of July at Coors Field.
“That was unbelievable, potentially the difference in the game there,” Sox manager Will Venable said. “That was a massive play. We talk about the athlete that he is, it was on full display there.”
Fellow rookie Edgar Quero had the big hit, connecting for a solo home run to right field in the sixth to put the Sox ahead 3-2. It was the catcher’s first major-league homer.
“I was just trying to hit the ball and make contact, and the homer came,” Quero said.
Quero was behind the plate for starter Adrian Houser, who allowed two runs (both unearned) on four hits with six strikeouts and two walks in eight fantastic innings.
“The sinker was the big pitch for me tonight,” Houser said. “Was able to get some early contact. And being able to sprinkle in that slider was a big help, for sure.”
Grant Taylor struck out two in the ninth for his third save.
The Sox (29-59) showcased dominant pitching, timely hitting and solid defense to defeat the Rockies (20-68) in the opener of the three-game series between the teams with the worst records in baseball.
Montgomery factored in defensively from the start, fielding a grounder for the first out in the bottom of the first.
He went 0-for-2 at the plate, reaching base on catcher’s interference and a walk. The catcher’s interference came in the second.
“(Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela’s) fastball kind of got in on me a little bit, so I knew I had to be quick to it,” Montgomery said of the sequence. “It was also two strikes, so I was also trying to see everything as deep as I can.”
Houser said Montgomery’s over-the-shoulder grab, which came with runners on first and third and two outs in the second, was a “momentum changer.”
Overall, Montgomery described the day as “awesome.”
“After the first ground ball I got at the beginning of the game — the game finds you — once I got that, I kind of settled in pretty quick,” he said. “Had good ABs. I was pretty happy with it.”
The Sox announced the promotion of their 2021 first-round pick to the majors before Friday’s game.
Montgomery, 23, turned a productive June at Triple-A Charlotte into his first big-league opportunity. He was slashing .218/.298/.435 with 11 home runs and 30 RBIs in 55 games with the Knights, and he hit .281 with six homers and 16 RBIs in 16 June games.
In his last game for Charlotte, Montgomery came through with the winning hit in the ninth inning Wednesday for a 4-3 victory against Jacksonville.
“The biggest thing was we put together a plan and we went to execute that plan in the game,” Montgomery said before Friday’s game of the recent minor-league success. “We didn’t try to do too much. I was playing carefree.”
The Sox selected Montgomery with the No. 22 pick in the 2021 draft out of Southridge High School in southern Indiana. He has a .246/.364/.414 career slash line with 69 doubles, 48 home runs and 186 RBIs in 376 games during portions of five seasons in the Sox system.
“For a guy who’s working extremely hard, he’s had some adversity he had to go through in the minor leagues, which I think is going to serve him well,” Venable said before the game. “He fought through that, got himself to a really good spot and forced his way to the big-league roster.”
MLB.com ranks Montgomery as the No. 5 prospect in the Sox organization and the No. 95 prospect in all of baseball.
After a slow start to the 2025 season, Montgomery spent close to two weeks at the Sox’s Arizona complex to make adjustments at the plate.
“I learned a lot more mentally than just physically, just because it was a grind,” Montgomery said. “You see all your boys out there playing — I was happy as heck for all of them — but you get a little bit of FOMO because you want to be there with all the guys.
“I had to put pride and ego aside to get as much as I could out of that experience.”
Montgomery had the chance Friday to go through his first major-league experience. He hit seventh and played shortstop, with Chase Meidroth, who had been the regular shortstop, shifting to second base.
“Last night I was excited because I wanted to get here and get with the guys and start hitting, fielding and talking to everybody,” Montgomery said.
He anticipated having about 15 to 20 friends and family in attendance.
“I just thank everybody back home that’s stuck with me,” he said. “And my parents, my family. Couldn’t have done it without them.”
His major-league career began in a city that already had special memories.
“What’s kind of funny is this is where I got drafted,” Montgomery said. “I came to the in-person draft in Denver (and watched) the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game. And now I get to make my debut here. It’s kind of a cool full-circle moment.”
Venable liked what he saw from Montgomery throughout the day.
“He made the routine plays, he looked comfortable in the box, some really good swings, battled there,” Venable said. “Mixed in a walk (in the eighth) in a tough spot. A really good day for him.”
The Sox made two other roster moves Friday, designating infielder Vinny Capra for assignment and returning pitcher Fraser Ellard (left lat strain) from his injury rehabilitation assignment at Charlotte. Ellard was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Charlotte.
