CLEVELAND (Interstat) — Sean Burke pitched six dominant innings, striking out 11, and Colson Montgomery drove in two runs with a double and a solo home run as the Chicago White Sox defeated the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 on Saturday, July 4, 2026, at Progressive Field in front of 31,727 fans.

Burke allowed one earned run on seven hits over six innings, walking none and fanning 11. The right-hander, who improved to 2-1 on the season, retired the side in order in the first, third and fourth innings and worked out of a jam in the fifth after Austin Hedges homered to cut Chicago’s lead to 2-1. Burke set down the final two batters of that inning and struck out the side in the sixth, finishing with 11 strikeouts, one shy of his career high.

The White Sox (46-42) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning against Cleveland starter Parker Messick. Miguel Vargas drew a leadoff walk, and after Randal Grichuk flied out and Chase Meidroth struck out, Colson Montgomery doubled to left field, scoring Vargas. Left fielder Cooper Ingle committed a throwing error on the play, allowing Montgomery to advance to third, but Junior Perez popped out to end the inning.

Messick, who took a no-decision, allowed five hits and one earned run over five innings, striking out three and walking two. The left-hander settled in after the first, retiring nine of the next 10 batters he faced before Chicago threatened again in the fourth. Braden Montgomery singled, and Luisangel Acuña singled, putting runners on first and second with one out. Tristan Peters grounded into a force out, but Drew Romo walked to load the bases. Messick escaped by getting Vargas to fly out to center field.

The Guardians (47-43) finally broke through against Burke in the bottom of the fifth. Daniel Schneemann grounded out to start the inning, but Austin Hedges crushed a 2-2 pitch to center field for his third home run of the season, tying the game 1-1. Steven Kwan followed with a triple to left field, putting the potential go-ahead run at third with one out. Travis Bazzana then hit a ground ball to second baseman Chase Meidroth, who threw home to cut down Kwan at the plate. Catcher Drew Romo then fired to third baseman Colson Montgomery, who applied the tag and then threw to first to complete a bizarre rundown that ended with Bazzana at second base. Burke then struck out Chase DeLauter swinging to strand the runner.

Chicago reclaimed the lead in the eighth inning against Cleveland reliever Tim Herrin. With one out, Colson Montgomery homered to right field, his 22nd of the season, putting the White Sox ahead 2-1. Herrin, who took the loss, allowed one earned run on one hit and one walk in one inning, striking out one. His record fell to 1-4.

The White Sox added an insurance run in the ninth inning against Guardians reliever Shawn Armstrong. Tristan Peters led off with a double to right field, his 19th of the season, and Drew Romo walked. Miguel Vargas then lifted a sacrifice fly to right fielder David Fry, scoring Peters and making it 3-1. Kyle Teel singled, putting runners at first and second, but Chase Meidroth lined out and Colson Montgomery popped out to second base to end the inning.

Grant Taylor pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his third save of the season, allowing no hits and striking out one. Taylor, who entered with one out in the ninth after a walk to Gabriel Arias, induced a groundout from David Fry to end the game.

Burke’s performance continued a strong stretch for the right-hander. In his previous start June 29 at Baltimore, he allowed two earned runs over 5 1/3 innings in a win. On June 23 against Cleveland, he allowed one earned run over 6 1/3 innings in another victory. Against the Guardians on Saturday, Burke threw 94 pitches, 66 for strikes, and did not issue a walk. He retired the side in order three times and struck out five of the final six batters he faced.

Cleveland’s offense managed seven hits but went 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. Hedges led the Guardians with two hits, including the solo homer. Kwan had a triple and a single, and Brayan Rocchio added two singles. DeLauter and Kyle Manzardo each had one hit.

For Chicago, Colson Montgomery finished 2 for 5 with the double and home run. Tristan Peters went 2 for 3 with a walk, a double and a run scored. Vargas walked twice and drove in a run on the sacrifice fly. The White Sox totaled nine hits.

The game lasted 2 hours, 37 minutes.

The series continues Sunday as the White Sox and Guardians meet again at Progressive Field. Chicago then returns home to host the Boston Red Sox in a three-game series beginning Tuesday. Cleveland travels to Minnesota for a three-game set against the Twins starting Tuesday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Chicago White Sox 6, Cleveland Guardians 5. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Cleveland with a 59.00 percent probability to win. Cleveland had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of four went over the over-under line of 7.5.