Mune and Rikuu: Sox benefiting from dynamic Japanese duo

CHICAGO -- White Sox manager Will Venable knows the recent insertion of Rikuu Nishida onto the roster could benefit his countryman, Munetaka Murakami.

“I think that there’s certainly information that you like being able to be passed through Rikuu,” Venable said before the White Sox 5-3 loss to the Twins on Tuesday. “You saw [Monday] after Rikuu’s at-bats, [him] stopping by and talking to Mune, and that’s obviously something that can happen with some of our other players, but you know you’re going to get information through Rikuu there.”

The duo has played crucial roles in the last two games for the White Sox. Murakami has homered and Nishida has collected a hit and thrown out a runner at the plate in each of the first two games against Minnesota.

Tuesday, Nishida started an eighth-inning rally against Twins ace Joe Ryan, who had been terrific through seven innings. The White Sox had mustered just three hits and no runs against the right-hander before the eighth.

He led off the frame with a single, and Murakami blasted his AL-leading 19th home run of the season two batters later to tie the game at 2-2.

“That was awesome,” Venable said. “That was cool to see.”

Sure, Nishida couldn’t speak to Murakami after his eighth-inning single, but there’s an added layer of benefit in being together.

“Well, it’s been a while since I was able to speak Japanese with another fellow player,” Murakami said through interpreter Kenzo Yagi. “Obviously, about the pitching stuff, that was always having to go through the interpreter, as well. So, it was something new and different, but it really helps out at the end of it.”

Nishida, in his second Major League game, continues to impress with his defense.

Tied in the top of the 10th, Orlando Arcia hit a two-out single to right, and Twins third-base coach Ramon Borrego waved Kody Clemens home. Nishida, who primarily played second base in the Minors, fired a perfect strike to catcher Drew Romo at home to end the inning.

The White Sox had a chance to walk it off in the bottom of the frame. Nishida led off the inning with Luisangel Acuña at second base. He struck out trying to lay down a bunt. There was some thought that the White Sox could have let Nishida try to hit with two strikes and try to advance the baserunner, but Venable and his staff decided to allow him to try to put down a sacrifice, with the top of the order due up.

“You can look at it both ways,” Venable said. “Once you get down there with two strikes, against a guy who’s really tough against lefties, that at-bat where we’re set up to bunt, go ahead and commit through two strikes there with that being a skillset that [Nishida] does very well.

“That kind of was the calculus to go ahead and try to get them over there knowing that you got some guys behind them.”

The chance to walk it off was still there for Murakami two batters later when Sam Antonacci had an infield single. But Murakami hit into a quirky, unassisted double play to first baseman Josh Bell to end the frame.

The Twins scored three in the top of the 11th, handing the White Sox the loss.

“I just came up in the last at-bat, and I had my chances and I couldn’t convert them,” Murakami said. “I could have hit that flyout and scored a run. I just have to keep practicing and contribute as much as possible to the team.”