Chicago White Sox right fielder Braden Montgomery of Des Moines, Iowa made Major League Baseball history on Tuesday night by becoming the fifth player ever to hit a walk-off home run in his very first MLB game. Montgomery accomplished the feat in a 6-5 White Sox win over the Atlanta Braves at the Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois.
Montgomery’s home run was a two-run shot in the bottom of the 10th inning. At the time, the White Sox were down 5-4. Montgomery’s dinger was 343 feet to left field, and also scored White Sox designated hitter Andrew Benintendi of Cincinnati, Ohio. The home run came off of Braves’s closer Raisel Iglesias of Isla de la Juventud, Cuba, who had his first loss of the season.
This was Montgomery’s second hit of the game. He also had a RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Montgomery was the Boston Red Sox’s first round pick, 12th overall, in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Texas A&M University. He was then traded to the White Sox on December 11, 2024 in the deal that saw starting pitcher Garret Crochet go to Boston.
The other four MLB players to hit a walk-off home run in their first MLB game were Billy Parker of the California Angels (1971), Josh Bard of the Cleveland Indians (2002), Miguel Cabrera of the Florida Marlins (2003), and Carlos Perez of the Los Angeles Angels (2015).
With the win, the White Sox improved to a record of 35 wins and 31 losses. They are tied for first place in the American League Central with the Cleveland Guardians.
