Spring opener a game of firsts for Venable, Montgomery

MESA, Ariz. -- A rousing rendition of the national anthem was being performed by a local Arizona woman prior to the White Sox 7-3 loss to the Cubs on Saturday afternoon when manager Will Venable paused briefly to take in the atmosphere at Sloan Park.

It was the first 2025 White Sox Cactus League game. More importantly, it was Venable¡¯s first game as the 44th manager in team history.

¡°Really happy with the way we competed today. Excited to make our adjustments and move on to the next one,¡± Venable said. ¡°First day for everybody -- me too. It was great being out there.¡±

Venable served as the Cubs¡¯ first-base coach from 2018-19 and was their third-base coach in ¡®20, so he knows plenty about the Sloan Park atmosphere. He also knows about the Cubs/White Sox rivalry, even during Cactus League competition.

But now, he¡¯s the man in charge and evaluating all the good and the bad from Game 1.

Colson Montgomery provided an early glimpse of the good with a two-run home run in the fourth inning to cut the Cubs¡¯ lead to 5-2 and give the White Sox their first long ball of Spring Training. The No. 39 overall prospect¡¯s blast to center came on an 0-1 pitch from left-handed reliever Caleb Thielbar and followed his second-inning strikeout against starter Justin Steele, who fanned five.

What might have resonated the most with Venable and the coaches is Montgomery¡¯s focus on getting over Brandon Drury, who doubled to lead off the fourth inning. He certainly got him over ¡­ and then some.

¡°I got him over and in,¡± said Montgomery with a laugh. ¡°I had a lot of jitters going into my first at-bat. I was talking to [hitting coach] Marcus [Thames], and I was like, ¡®Well, I was happy I got my swing off.¡¯ The result was whatever, but I knew going into my second at-bat I was going to be good.¡±

¡°Especially after the first at-bat, to make his adjustment and come back and have a nice swing like that [was] great to see from Colson,¡± said Venable.

Tim Elko also homered in the sixth, marking the second straight Cactus League opener where the big right-hander went deep at Sloan.

As for the not so good, right-handed reliever Prelander Berroa, who posted a 1.80 ERA over 12 games last September and figured to be part of the late-inning leverage relief mix, exited in the fourth inning with head athletic trainer James Kruk due to right elbow discomfort. Berroa was set to get imaging done on the elbow as part of further evaluation Saturday night.

Venable praised Luis Robert Jr. for looking great at the plate with a single and a double, and he gave credit to starter Jared Shuster, who has been working on his changeup and threw some good ones against the Cubs despite giving up five runs over two innings. It was one of what will be many games for Venable, and it was just as good for the players to get out from the Camelback Ranch back fields into a highly competitive environment.

¡°It¡¯s totally different just because you have the crowd and you know it¡¯s the first game,¡± Montgomery said. ¡°Your jitters are going through the roof. Your adrenaline is pumping, too.

¡°Good learning experience, too, for when I get in another scenario like this -- I can tone it back and do what I need to do offensively. It was a really cool environment today.¡±