ANAHEIM – Add Angel Stadium to the list of home run locales for Munetaka Murakami.
The White Sox first baseman, who was mired in a 4-for-32 slump coming into his fourth inning at-bat against the Angels on Monday night, blasted a 429-foot home run off José Soriano, according to Statcast. His 14th home run of the season ties Aaron Judge atop the MLB home run leaderboard. It landed in the greenery beyond the shrubbery in straightaway center. The drive had an exit velocity of 109 mph, although it sounded off the bat even greater.
Murakami ranks third in Major League Baseball history with his 14 home runs in 35 career games. He trails Rhys Hoskins at 18 (2017) and Aristides Aquino at 15 (2018-19). Murakami also tied Darrin Jackson, the longtime, popular radio analyst, for home runs on the White Sox career list.
Soriano gave up five runs on eight hits over four innings, walking the first two of the game and allowing them to score.