Murakami rips 1st Chicago long ball, becomes fastest Japanese player to 4 MLB HRs

CHICAGO – With the White Sox trailing by one and nobody out in the bottom of the sixth inning of Saturday’s contest against the Blue Jays at Rate Field, Munetaka Murakami had a basic goal in mind upon stepping to the plate against Brendon Little.

The first baseman wanted to move Miguel Vargas over from second base after Vargas opened the frame with a double. Murakami took that mission a step further, with a Statcast-projected 431-foot home run to center field to reclaim the lead, which the White Sox would not relinquish during a 6-3 victory.

“It was the best result coming off the bat,” said Murakami through interpreter Kenzo Yagi. “I was really glad we were able to push that lead.”

“He's built for this,” said manager Will Venable of Murakami. “He's been everything that we imagined as far as his impact in the clubhouse, who he is as a person, his play on the field defensively, as well as the power and plate discipline. Really good stuff from Mune.”

Despite carrying three homers into this contest, that drive with an exit velocity of 111.1 mph represented a number of firsts for the left-handed slugger. Murakami’s four home runs are the most by a Japanese-born player in his first eight career MLB games, not to mention becoming the first White Sox rookie with four long balls in eight games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Murakami homered for the first time off a left-handed pitcher, giving him three RBIs in a game for the first time in his short career. He also homered for the first time at home, after going deep during each of his first three games in Milwaukee.

“They are really, really loud, a really fun crowd. They are cheering us on. I’m happy to play in front of them,” Murakami said. “It was always a dream for me to play here and then hit in front of the crowd here at Rate Field. I just want to keep continuing this process.”

There was a defensive component to Murakami’s game Saturday as well, despite making a fielding error on a Daulton Varsho grounder to load the bases with one out in the fourth. With the bases loaded and one out in the seventh, Nathan Lukes hit a fly ball to right fielder Tristan Peters for what turned into a sacrifice fly.

But Murakami cut the throw from Peters and nailed Tyler Heineman trying to go from second to third. That inning-ending throw left Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who launched a two-run homer in the sixth, waiting on deck.

“I saw the second baserunner. I knew that home, I couldn’t make it,” Murakami said. “So, it was reactive to find a way to throw him out at third. It’s an everyday kind of play.”

“Obviously, starting with Tristan hitting the cutoff guy is huge right there,” Venable said. “That's something we preach. We know it's fundamental baseball. That was a huge out to get.”

Colson Montgomery followed Murakami’s home run with his second of the year, meaning Little faced four batters in protecting a 2-1 lead and gave up three runs on three extra-base hits. It’s a nice power combination for the home crowd to watch and support.

Venable had moved Murakami down to fourth and Montgomery to sixth with left-hander Mason Fluharty opening for the Blue Jays, trying to get some right-handers higher up in the order. So, it seems only fitting that Murakami and Montgomery did their damage off a southpaw.

“Me and Mune both, we have all the confidence in the world that we can face whoever, and we know we can compete against whoever,” Montgomery said. “You kind of have to have that mindset that you're the best and no one's going to beat you.

“When they move us down in the order and things like that, we don't get discouraged thinking something's wrong. You just know it's part of the game plan. You just have to trust the coaches.”

Being back home seems to have worked wonders for the White Sox. They started 1-5 on the road, playing ragged baseball not in line with the things they worked so diligently at during Spring Training. They claimed their first series victory of the year Saturday, opening at 2-0 at Rate Field for the first time since 2022, when they also were 2-0.

“Each game, everyone's been getting progressively better,” Montgomery said. “Settling down, realizing that this is a marathon and you're not going to swing your way out of slumps or whatever with one at bat, so you just gotta trust the process. I feel like we're doing that now.”