Braden Montgomery smiled in anticipation of playing in the 2025 All-Star Futures Game. But the honor of being just one of 50 minor leaguers selected in no way diminishes the humble 22-year-old's drive to be great.

Twenty years on from a championship, details get blurred as stories only get better. But it’s right on the money to say the Sox never would’ve won it all had they not remade their roster in a tone-shifting manner.

Mike Tauchman drove in Colson Montgomery with an infield single in the 11th inning, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 5-4 to salvage a doubleheader split.

Nolan Jones opened the inning with a single to left. Kyle Manzardo reached on a bunt single to move Jones to second. Martinez doubled past first for the lead and it looked like the Guardians were in a great spot to extend the lead with Manzardo at third, Martinez at second and one out. But appearances can be deceiving.

Carlos Santana hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the sixth inning, and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox 4-2 in the opener of a split doubleheader.

The Chicago White Sox are monitoring Shane Smith's workload going into the last part of the season. Smith pitched three innings in Friday's 4-2 loss to Cleveland in the opener of a split doubleheader.

This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin’s White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

In this week’s “Polling Place,” your home for Sun-Times sports polls on the social platform X, we asked if you’d take a Cubs wild-card berth right now or if you’re holding out for a division title. “Settle for a wild-card spot? Heck, yes, like a drowning man ‘settling’ for some oxygen,” @RonaldVoigt4 commented.