Munetaka Murakami kept his power surge rolling as the White Sox beat the Diamondbacks 11-5 at Chase Field, and his latest homer helped turn the game into a night built around long balls. The Japan-born first baseman went 426 feet to right field with a 113 mph exit velocity, according to Statcast, and the shot gave him a home run in four straight games.
The White Sox used that blast as part of a second-inning explosion that also featured homers from Miguel Vargas and Colson Montgomery. Vargas drove a 372-foot shot to left field at 111.7 mph, and Montgomery followed with a 440-foot drive measured at 107.2 mph, giving Chicago back-to-back-to-back home runs for the first time since Sept. 19, 2020.
White Sox offense keeps stacking damage
Chicago had already opened the game with four runs in the first inning off Merrill Kelly, so the second inning only deepened the pressure on Arizona. Over the last four games, the White Sox have hit 12 home runs, a sharp contrast to the six they managed across the previous 10 games.
Murakami said through interpreter Kenzo Yagi that the lineup is producing from top to bottom. “We’re very much connecting from top to bottom in the lineup,” he said, adding that the team needs to keep generating good results together.
Montgomery described the night as one where the lineup kept feeding off itself. “The hits were contagious, the homers were contagious,” he said after trying to join the power surge in the same inning.
Murakami continues to reach rare company
Murakami now has nine home runs, the most by any Japanese-born player in his first 23 MLB games. That total puts him three ahead of the previous mark held by Shohei Ohtani, who hit six in his first 23 games as a hitter.
The homer also made Murakami the 23rd White Sox player to homer in four or more straight games, across 31 such instances. He joined Ohtani, twice, and Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki as the only Japanese-born players to homer in four straight games.
If Murakami homers again, he would match the longest streak by an MLB rookie, a mark reached 12 times. He would also tie the White Sox record for individual home runs in five straight games, a list that includes A.J. Pierzynski, Paul Konerko, Carlos Lee, Frank Thomas, Greg Luzinski and Ron Kittle.
Murakami added two singles, a walk and two runs scored Tuesday, lifting his OPS to .978. He said he is still seeing many pitchers for the first time but is spending as much time as possible studying them before each at-bat.
A balanced night behind Sean Burke
The offensive eruption gave Sean Burke strong support, and he delivered six innings while allowing two runs and striking out three. Burke said the win was especially welcome after a long stretch without one, and the result ended a personal drought that included 16 winless appearances and 11 starts.
He allowed one walk after the White Sox had already built a 7-0 lead, and the run support helped him settle in quickly. Burke said the variety in the attack made the trip enjoyable, pointing to the mix of power, small ball, hit strings and walks.
Manager Will Venable said the plan against Kelly worked because Chicago got the ball up and stayed disciplined. “Kelly’s a really good pitcher,” Venable said, “and we forced him into the parts of the zone where we wanted him, and the guys didn’t miss those pitches.”
The victory improved the White Sox to 3-1 on their first of three West Coast road trips before the end of May, and it marked their second straight win of the season after a three-game sweep of Toronto at home from April 3-5. The surge has come while the team has played without starting catcher Kyle Teel, making the recent power run even more notable for a lineup that has found rhythm in a challenging stretch.
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