CHICAGO –– Pitchers have to figure out Colson Montgomery eventually, right?

That may have been a thought for some as Detroit Tigers starter Jack Flaherty struck out the hot-hitting White Sox rookie in his first two at-bats, then spun two knuckle curveballs to get ahead with an 0-2 count in Montgomery’s third plate appearance.

But Montgomery, who entered Tuesday with 10 home runs in his last 18 games, proved he’s capable of adjusting and that he may be more than just a home run-or-bust hitter. Flaherty threw a third straight knuckle curveball, and Montgomery looked at it in the dirt.

He threw the same pitch for a fourth straight time, but that one caught enough of the strike zone for Montgomery to laser it through the right side for a single. Montgomery’s two-RBI hit broke the tie and marked a key moment in a five-run fifth inning that powered a 9-6 White Sox victory over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday.

“Great adjustment there. Might have hung it, but he was able to get through that at-bat and get a pitch and not miss it,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “That’s what it’s going to take, those in at-bat adjustments. Really nice job there and obviously a big knock.”

Luis Robert Jr. followed with an RBI single, which knocked Flaherty out of the game after allowing eight hits and five earned runs in 4.1 innings. Kyle Teel walked with the bases loaded to bring in another run and cap off the big inning, which included six singles and two walks.

“Just consecutive quality at-bats there in a row,” Venable said. “We were really grinding all night there against Flaherty, he had really a really good breaking ball tonight. That’s kind of what he does. Thought we were kind of in between because of that. Saw a lot of swing and miss and foul balls on the heater, too. We just kept going and the guys kept grinding and we were able to string some together there.”

Montgomery’s line-drive single swing was reminiscent of something he discussed after Monday’s game, which came with the 10th home run of his rookie season. After struggling in Triple-A to begin the season, Montgomery was sent to Arizona to work with White Sox director of hitting Ryan Fuller, a physical and mental reset that appears to have done wonders for his game.

On day one, Montgomery recalled working on keeping the ball low to the ground and hitting line drives to the shortstop. He thinks it keeps him tighter to the ball, and clearly it’s working.

“Not really a normal home run swing. I feel like a lot of the hitters can tell you if they tried doing home run swings, it’s probably not going to work,” Montgomery said.

The White Sox are well aware that Montgomery will have to face adjustments by opposing pitchers as they get a better read on the 23-year-old rookie shortstop. Venable said as much pregame, noting they’ve already seen team attack Montgomery in different ways.

Despite his incredible power through 33 games, he has 36 strikeouts and just 10 walks to go with a .239 batting average and an .855 OPS. To combat this, Venable said Montgomery will have to be mindful and open to adjustments, whether that be his swing or approach.

“That’s what this game is all about, making adjustments,” Venable said. “There’s going to be adversity ahead of him at some point too. Full confidence that whatever this league throws at Colson, he’s going to be ready for it.”

In the later innings, rookie catcher Edgar Quero provided what turned out to be some much-needed insurance with a solo home run and a two-RBI single to give the White Sox a 9-3 lead. Colt Keith hit a three-run home run in the ninth, but it was too little and too late.

The White Sox entered the game leading MLB with 41 home runs since the All-Star break, but they played some small ball on Tuesday with just one home run out of the 13 hits. It was especially intriguing to see rookies like Montgomery, Quero and Teel combine for six hits and six RBI.

“It’s huge. That’s what this is about, us kind of helping these young guys develop,” Venable said. “As we looked at our measures of success this year, having these guys come up and establish themselves and perform well is something that is critical for us. Where they’re at to this point is great. We’ve still got a long way to go.”

The White Sox also got a strong effort from right-hander Yoendrys Gomez, who was called up from Triple-A to start Tuesday’s game. Across five innings, he allowed just one hit and one earned run while striking out seven batters and walking just one.

That was a continuation of his strong run in Charlotte, where he posted a 2.12 ERA in 46.2 innings. Venable said he has earned another opportunity with the Major League team in some form.

“Gomez was outstanding,” Venable said. “I think you look at organizationally, for us to have claimed him and then gets back in the minor leagues, gets to work. Our PD group there in Triple-A did an outstanding job. For him, as somebody who had struggled with command to find that. He’s got a lot of different pitches, and for him to command them like he is now, you see the results. It’s huge, a big win for our group down there and really nice to see a guy go to work and get positive results.”

With this win, the White Sox evened the series after Monday’s 2-1 loss and improved to 44-76 on the season. The series finale is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. CT on Wednesday, with All-Star Shane Smith taking the mound for the White Sox and the Tigers’ starter to be announced.