CHICAGO -- Munetaka Murakami was one of the first White Sox players to greet Miguel Vargas in the clubhouse following Vargas’ walk-off home run in a 4-3 victory over the Tigers in the 10th inning Friday night at Rate Field.
In a perfect world, Murakami would have been on base for Vargas, hitting one spot in front of him in the power-packed White Sox lineup. But Murakami was out of action by the time of this thrilling finish and could be sidelined for a little bit of time.
Murakami departed Friday’s contest with right hamstring tightness after beating out a one-out fielder’s choice grounder to second in the third inning. He is undergoing further evaluation and imaging Saturday, according to the White Sox.
“Looks like a little hamstring strain on the initial evaluation. He’ll get some imaging tomorrow, but probably a couple weeks,” White Sox manager Will Venable said of Murakami's recovery timeline. “Nothing official, got to continue the evaluation. But it might be a couple weeks.”
“We're going to stay positive,” said White Sox right-hander Erick Fedde, who worked four bulk innings on Friday. “We won today. The boys battled. Obviously he's the heart of our lineup and someone that's been amazing, but these things happen and [it's] the next man up. That's kind of the mentality we have to have.”
After reaching first base, Murakami appeared to grab at his right hamstring and wince as he was walking back to the bag. Venable and head athletic trainer James Kruk came to check on Murakami, and he quickly departed and was replaced by Luisangel Acuña, who scored from first on Vargas’ double in the next at-bat.
What happens to the White Sox with Murakami, his 20 home runs and exceptional approach at the plate out of the lineup?
Jacob Gonzalez, the left-handed-hitting No. 23 White Sox prospect (per MLB Pipeline), was pulled from Friday’s game for Triple-A Charlotte and appears to be on his way to Chicago. The White Sox top pick from the 2023 Draft has a 1.087 OPS, 19 home runs and 62 RBIs for the Knights in his best year with the organization.
Gonzalez plays second, shortstop and first base, while Vargas plays third and first and Colson Montgomery plays shortstop and third, which gives a hint of the versatility within the White Sox. They have two more games against the Tigers this weekend at home, where they now have a 14-3 record over their past 17 contests. They then kick off a road trip with three games in Minnesota next week, and the club currently boasts a 9-3 record against the American League Central.
But business then picks up with a three-game series at Philadelphia, a return home against the Braves and Dodgers and then a trip to Yankee Stadium. With or without Murakami, more will be known about the White Sox by the end of June.
“We'll talk about it,” Venable said. “I think the first thing is to see where Mune is at. We'll start talking about what potential options there could be if it's an IL, and go from there.”
“We know the big piece that Mune is for the team and what he does for the team,” Vargas said. “We all stay together, and obviously he stays there and was the first one in the clubhouse waiting for everyone. When you see that, it brings the group more together and closer. We all have to support him, and hopefully it’s nothing bad.”