White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Homers in win Tuesday
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Murakami went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, two runs scored, a walk and a strikeout Tuesday during a 14-11 win over the Royals.
Murakami extended his on-base streak to 10 games after reaching base twice Tuesday. The 26-year-old smashed his 33rd blast in the seventh off Tony Gonsolin to provide some insurance for the White Sox. Over 531 plate appearances, Murakami has batted .203/.348/.469 with 33 homers, 72 RBI and 91 walks this season.
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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Homer, triple in win
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Murakami went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run and a triple in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Tigers.
Murakami supplied all of the White Sox's runs with his first-inning homer off Framber Valdez. Later in the game, Murakami hit the first triple of his big-league career. The corner infielder hasn't been known for speed this year, adding just one stolen base on four attempts. The power has been there -- he's batting .205 with an .817 OPS, 32 homers, 68 RBI, 76 runs scored and 14 doubles over 118 contests in his rookie season.
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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Sitting out versus southpaw
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Murakami is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game in Cleveland.
Murakami wore the golden sombrero in Tuesday's loss to the Guardians, and he's 1-for-19 with 12 strikeouts over his last six contests. This marks the second time he's been out of the lineup over the White Sox's past three games against left-handed hurlers. Miguel Vargas will slide across the diamond to first base and Colson Montgomery will play third base in Wednesday's rubber match.
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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Taking seat versus southpaw
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Murakami is absent from the lineup for Friday's game in St. Louis.
The Cardinals are sending left-hander Matthew Liberatore to the mound, so the White Sox are giving their left-handed-hitting slugger a day off. Miguel Vargas will slide over to first base, Colson Montgomery will cover third base and Luisangel Acuna will grab a start at shortstop.
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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Notches 31st homer in loss
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Murakami went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's loss to the Pirates.
Murakami homered off of Luke Weaver in the eighth inning to bring him up to 31 long balls, which is tied for fifth in the American League. The Japanese slugger had a rough August during which he hit only .147 with five home runs in 28 contests, but he's already homered twice through eight games in September. On the season, the 26-year-old is slashing .210/.349/.480 with 63 RBI and 74 runs scored, but he also has 169 strikeouts in 482 plate appearances.
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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Reaches 30 homers
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Murakami went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run Saturday against the Twins.
Murakami got the White Sox off to a hot start by popping his 30th home run of the season in the first inning. It was a long-awaited milestone, as he had been sitting on 29 long balls since Aug. 18. During that homerless stretch, Murakami went just 5-for-59 (.085) with a 38 percent strikeout rate, one RBI and five runs scored. It's still been an impressive rookie season for Murakami, but his inflated strikeout rate leads to inconsistent results, which is evident from his .211 average through 107 games.
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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Homers again Sunday
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Murakami went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 7-5 win over the Tigers.
Murakami broke a 4-4 tie in the seventh inning by taking Tyler Holton deep for a two-run homer, giving Chicago a lead it wouldn't relinquish. The slugger has now launched eight home runs over his last 20 games, driving in 15 runs during that stretch, and is up to 28 long balls on the season. Murakami owns a .235 average with an impressive .911 OPS across 88 games this season, though his massive power continues to come with swing-and-miss concerns, highlighted by a 33.4 percent strikeout rate.
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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Pops pair of homers
Rotowire
Murakami went 3-for-5 with two home runs, six RBI and three runs scored Sunday against the Astros.
Murakami was hitting only .184 with a 35.4 percent strikeout rate across his first 11 games since returning from the injured list, but he snapped out of that skid in impressive fashion Sunday. He popped a two-run and solo homer, and he also chipped in a two-RBI single. Murakami now has a modest three-game hitting streak with only two strikeouts in that span, so he looks to be regaining a rhythm at the plate.
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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: On track to return Friday
Rotowire
The White Sox are expected to activate Murakami (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list ahead of Friday's game against the Athletics, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.
On the shelf since May 30 due to a Grade 2 right hamstring strain, Murakami appears poised to resume his outstanding rookie campaign this weekend after checking out well following two rehab games at Triple-A Charlotte. He's gone 2-for-7 with a double and a walk between the two contests and was able to play a full nine innings at first base Wednesday. Murakami's upcoming return from the IL is expected to most negatively affect fellow rookie Jacob Gonzalez, who had posted a .699 OPS in 29 games with the White Sox after stepping in for Murakami as the team's primary first baseman.
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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Beginning rehab stint Monday
Rotowire
Murakami (hamstring) will report to Triple-A Charlotte on Monday to begin a minor-league rehab assignment, Tom Withers of the Associated Press reports.
Murakami suffered a Grade 2 right hamstring strain in late May and landed on the 10-day injured list. The star rookie will likely need a couple of games in the minors to get his timing back at the plate, but he appears on track to rejoin the big-league squad before the All-Star break. Jacob Gonzalez has been hitting well over the past few weeks as Chicago's primary first baseman, but he'll likely lose out on playing time when Murakami is activated.
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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Advancing in rehab program
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White Sox manager Will Venable said Sunday that Murakami (hamstring) is increasing the intensity of his hitting and running at about 80 percent intensity, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.
Murakami received a platelet-rich plasma injection for his Grade 2 right hamstring strain after landing on the shelf in late May, after which he was given an initial recovery timeline of 4-to-6 weeks. The 29-year-old may require a minor-league rehab assignment before coming off the injured list, but he appears to be tracking toward a return before the All-Star break.
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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Gets PRP injection for hamstring
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White Sox manager Will Venable said Monday that Murakami (hamstring) stayed back in Chicago during the team's road trip and was given a platelet-rich plasma injection, James Fegan of SoxMachine.com reports.
Murakami landed on the 10-day injured list Saturday and is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks of action with a Grade 2 right hamstring strain. The hope is that the PRP injection helps aid the healing process, but he will be sidelined several weeks regardless.
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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Slugs 18th homer in win
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Murakami went 1-for-4 with a solo homer in Monday's 3-1 win over the Twins.
Murakami jumped a first-pitch 97 mph fastball from Zebby Matthews in the first innings and sent it over the wall in right field to snap a seven-game home run drought. It was Murakami's 18th homer of the year and his sixth this month after launching nine long balls in April. Murakami is slashing .235/.374/.540 with the 18 homers, 37 RBI, 37 runs scored and a 41:76 BB:K across 230 trips to the plate this season. The 26-year-old is in the 97th percentile or better in average exit velocity (93.9 mph), barrel rate (20.2 percent), hard-hit rate (57.8 percent) and walk rate (18.1 percent), while he's in just the third percentile in strikeout rate (33.2 percent).
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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Crushes two homers Saturday
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Murakami went 2-for-3 with a walk, two home runs, three RBI and an additional run scored during the White Sox's 8-3 win over the Cubs on Saturday.
The White Sox tagged Jameson Taillon for five home runs during Saturday's win, with Murakami going deep in the third and fifth innings. It was the first multi-HR game of Murakami's young major-league career and brought him up to 17 home runs on the season, which is second in the majors behind Kyle Schwarber (20). Murakami has a .943 OPS with 32 RBI and 32 runs scored across 194 plate appearances this season.
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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Receiving rare day of rest
Rotowire
Murakami is not in the lineup Tuesday versus the Angels.
Tuesday will mark Murakami's second day off this season, but he has appeared in every game for the White Sox. The rookie has continued his success into May with a 1.122 OPS and two home runs across the first four games of the month. The White Sox are shifting around the infield Tuesday, with Miguel Vargas at first base, Colson Montgomery at third base and Luisangel Acuna at shortstop.
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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Keeps pace in MLB homer race
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Murakami went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run, a double, a walk and three total runs scored in a 6-0 win over the Angels on Monday.
Murakami tied his season high with three hits, the loudest of which was a two-run blast off Jose Soriano in the fourth inning. That long ball put the Japanese slugger back into a tie for the MLB home run lead with Aaron Judge, who hit his 14th home run earlier in the evening. Remarkably, Murakami's sixth-inning double was his first non-homer extra-base hit of the season; in fact, 14 of his 30 total knocks have left the park. While he's tied for fifth in the league with 50 strikeouts, Murakami is also sixth with 28 walks and is up to a .961 OPS, which is the ninth-best mark in MLB.
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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Blasts 13th homer
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Murakami went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run and two walks in Friday's 8-2 win over the Padres.
Murakami regained the outright lead in homers in the majors with this blast, his 13th of the year. The 26-year-old has gone 6-for-31 (.194) with three long balls and seven RBI over his last eight games, though that stretch followed a five-game homer streak. He's batting .239 with a .967 OPS through 141 plate appearances this season.
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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Takes over MLB homer lead
Rotowire
Murakami went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run in Monday's 8-7 victory versus the Angels.
Murakami turned the game on its head in the seventh inning, mashing a three-run blast to turn his team's one-run deficit into a two-run lead. The long ball was his 12th of the campaign, moving him into the lead among MLB hitters. Murakami is also striking out at a 32.5 percent clip, but as long as he keeps hitting the ball over the outfield wall, the White Sox likely won't mind stomaching the punchouts.
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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Homer streak at five games
Rotowire
Murakami went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's 11-7 loss to the Diamondbacks.
That's five straight games with a homer for Murakami. He's up to 10 homers this season, trailing only Yordan Alvarez (11) for the big-league lead. Murakami is hitting .256 with a 1.026 OPS, 19 RBI, 19 runs scored and no stolen bases over his first 24 major-league games. He's a three-true-outcomes hitter, as he's added a 21:32 BB:K across 104 plate appearances -- 63 of which have ended with a homer, strikeout or walk.
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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Homers yet again Tuesday
Rotowire
Murakami went 3-for-5 with a solo home run, an additional run and a walk in Tuesday's 11-5 victory versus the Diamondbacks.
Murakami belted a 426-foot solo shot in the second inning for the first of back-to-back-to-back homers for Chicago. The Japanese slugger has gone deep in four straight games to raise his season total to nine long balls, tied for second in the league. Murakami is also striking out at a 31.3 percent rate, but he's paired that with 21 walks -- tied for third in the league -- and appears to have a handle on major-league pitching in his first year in MLB.
