In a game at Guaranteed Rate Field on May 13 (Japan time), the Chicago White Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals 6-5. Munetaka Murakami started as the No. 2 hitter and first baseman, going 0-for-3 with one walk and three strikeouts. His three strikeouts brought his season total to 63, the worst in both leagues.
Murakami, who had homered in the first game of eight consecutive series – a Major League record – faced Royals starter S. Colec. In the first inning, White Sox starter E. Fedde allowed a two-run homer to Bobby Witt Jr. and another to Salvador Perez, putting the Royals up 2-0.
Trailing by two, the White Sox loaded the bases in the first inning, but Murakami struck out swinging on a full-count changeup, and the team failed to score. In the third, Murakami was seen smiling and chatting in English with Witt Jr., who had reached base on an infield single. That same inning, with two outs and a runner on first, Murakami worked a full-count walk after checking a close inside sinker, extending the inning. However, the next batter, Montgomery, struck out to end the threat.
In the fifth, with one out, No. 9 hitter Romo hit a solo home run to cut the deficit to 2-1. Later, with one out and a runner on second, Murakami came to the plate. He swung hard at a first-pitch cutter but fouled it off, showing frustration. After falling behind 2-2, he watched a borderline low-outside cutter for a called third strike, his 62nd of the season. Following his strikeout, Vargas singled to center to tie the game 2-2. With two outs and runners on first and second, C. Myers hit a go-ahead three-run homer, his third of the season, igniting the home crowd and the White Sox bench.
The Royals answered in the sixth, scoring two runs off reliever T. Schweitzer and one off G. Taylor to tie the game 5-5. In the seventh, Murakami faced lefty D. Lynch IV for his fourth at-bat. He swung aggressively but struck out swinging on a low-outside slider, recording his 63rd strikeout of the season, the worst in the majors.
In the eighth, with the score still 5-5, pinch hitter T. Hill led off and hit a go-ahead solo homer, his third of the season. The White Sox bullpen held the lead, securing their third consecutive win of the season and reducing their deficit to one game. They sit in second place, 1.5 games behind the division-leading Cleveland Guardians.
