Having padded his impressive RBI total with three in the series opener, power-hitting Munetaka Murakami will take another shot at the San Francisco Bay when the Chicago White Sox continue a three-game road series against the Giants on Saturday afternoon.
Making his first visit to Oracle Park, the left-handed-hitting Murakami resisted the temptation to go for his second major league grand slam after the White Sox had built a five-run lead in the fourth inning Friday night.
Instead, the MLB rookie took a Trevor McDonald pitch the opposite way, depositing a double down the left-field line that scored three additional runs and allowed the White Sox to coast to a 9-4 win.
The three RBIs raised his season total to 36, tying him with Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies for eighth among major league leaders.
Murakami’s 17 homers are second to Schwarber’s 20.
“He’s a superstar. There’s no other way to (say) it,” White Sox ace Davis Martin told reporters this week. “You play against guys like (Mike) Trout, you play against guys like (Aaron) Judge and Yordan Alvarez, and he’s doing the same things that they are. It’s an incredible thing to watch.”
One thing Murakami hasn’t done is record a “splash hit” among the kayaks beyond the right-field wall in San Francisco.
Then again, Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani didn’t reach McCovey Cove until last July in his eighth season. Schwarber achieved the feat a few days earlier in his 11th season. Each has done it just once.
Murakami will take his cracks Saturday against Giants right-hander Adrian Houser (2-4, 5.25 ERA), who began last season with the White Sox while Murakami was still playing in Japan.
Houser went 6-2 with a 2.10 ERA in 11 starts for Chicago last year, then was sent to the Tampa Bay Rays at the trade deadline for three players.
Signed by the Giants as a free agent over the winter, the 33-year-old has rebounded from an 0-4 start with a pair of road wins in his last two outings, limiting the Dodgers and Athletics to a total of three runs in 11 2/3 innings.
He has never lost to the White Sox, going 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA in three head-to-heads, including two starts.
He will oppose left-hander Bryan Hudson (2-1, 1.57 ERA), a reliever who will fill the opener role. He has two starts among his 24 appearances this season, and both came against the Washington Nationals in a three-game series in April. He pitched an inning in each game and gave up one total hit.
Hudson is expected to give way to right-hander Erick Fedde (0-4, 4.30 ERA). Fedde is winless but has started four White Sox victories in his past five outings.
Fedde has pitched well in his career against the Giants, going 2-1 with a 1.69 ERA in three starts. He will see a frustrated opponent on a four-game losing streak that is looking to turn around its 20-31 record.
“No one feels like what we’re doing is good enough. That’s kinda an obvious statement,” manager Tony Vitello said after the game. “Eventually, you keep building up scar tissue from being down after a game or being upset after a close loss or things not going the way you want.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had enough repetition of feeling down and being frustrated. Hopefully, some scar tissue building up can benefit us down the road.”
For their part, the White Sox are enjoying a resurgent season. The are 26-24 after the first 50 games and have won nine of the past 12 games.
–Field Level Media
