CHICAGO -- Munetaka Murakami homered twice, in the first and the seventh innings, giving him a team-high 35 for the season and helping the White Sox keep the pressure on Cleveland in the American League Central with a 6-1 victory over the Rockies before 35,778 at an electric Rate Field Friday.
It was Murakami’s third career multi-home run game and the 11th multi-homer game by a Sox player this season.
Qualifying for the playoffs did not change the White Sox day-to-day singular focus of helping get them to 83 wins this season after losing 100-plus in each of the last three seasons. So instead of setting up their pitching for a potential American League Wild Card Series starting Tuesday, they put staff ace Sean Burke on the mound Friday.
If things go as well with Davis Martin on Saturday as they did Friday, then the White Sox might not have to worry about the Wild Card. They entered this final regular season series trailing by one in the AL Central to Cleveland, which had its start delayed by rain on Friday night in Kansas City.
But breaking even with the Guardians in the standings is just as good for the White Sox, who own the 7-6 season series tiebreaker edge.
Burke capped off a breakout, standout season by allowing one run over 5 1/3 innings, striking out seven and walking one. He finished the ‘26 campaign with a 3.34 ERA, to go with a career-high 185 strikeouts over 172 1/3 innings.
Colson Montgomery also set the MLB single-season high for strikeouts with No. 224.