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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Keeps pace in MLB homer race
Rotowire
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
Rotowire
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.
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.
White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Hits 11th homer in win Friday
Rotowire
Murakami went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and walk in Friday's 5-4 win over the Nationals.
With the bases empty in the fourth inning, Murakami took Miles Mikolas deep for his 11th homer, tying Yordan Alvarez for the league lead. After his five-game home run streak was snapped Thursday, the slugger is ready to start another one. He now has seven long balls in his last nine games, and 11 of his 23 hits this season have gone over the wall. Murakami has proven to be a three-true-outcome hitter early in his MLB career, homering, walking or striking out in over 61 percent of his 113 plate appearances. He's now slashing .256/.398/.622 with 11 round-trippers, 20 RBI, 20 runs scored and a 22:36 BB:K.
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.
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.
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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Homers in third straight contest
Rotowire
Murakami went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 7-4 win over Athletics.
Murakami extended his club's lead with a towering two-run blast in a lefty-lefty matchup against Jeffrey Springs in the fifth inning. It marked the first-year slugger's third homer in as many days and eighth of the season. His .208 batting average and 33.3 percent strikeout rate leave something to be desired, but Murakami's power, combined with a 21.5 percent walk rate, has helped produce a .918 OPS through 22 games.
White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Swats seventh homer, walks thrice
Rotowire
Murakami went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and three walks in Saturday's 7-6 extra-innings loss to the Athletics.
Murakami entered play Saturday with a putrid .063 average and 4:10 BB:K across 21 plate appearances against left-handed pitching. Facing lefty Hogan Harris in the top of the seventh inning, Murakami took him deep to center field. Both of his hits against left-handers this season are home runs, and overall the Japanese slugger is slashing .209/.386/.522 with seven homers, 14 RBI, 15 runs scored and a 20:29 BB:K across his first 88 major-league plate appearances. Murakami still needs to cut down on his 33 percent strikeout rate, but a 23 percent walk rate and his power have made up for the swing-and-miss thus far.
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White Sox's Munetaka Murakami: Powers ChiSox with grand slam
Rotowire
Murakami went 3-for-5 with a grand slam and two runs scored in Friday's 9-2 win over the Athletics.
Murakami singled and scored in the third inning and then busted the game open with a grand slam off Elvis Alvarado in the top of the seventh to give Chicago a 9-1 lead. After going just 1-for-23 at the plate from April 5 to April 12, Murakami has hits in three of his last four games, including two homers and six RBI. Murakami is slashing .200/.361/.477 with six home runs, 13 RBI, 14 runs scored and a 17:28 BB:K across 83 plate appearances. He's homered, walked or struck out in 61.4 percent of his trips to the plate.
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