Munetaka Murakami hits 30th home run in loss

Murakami is still getting his homers and walks, but since returning from the injured list in June, he’s totaled 34 hits and 87 strikeouts in 52 games. If not for his absence, he’d probably be pushing the major league record of 223 strikeouts established by Mark Reynolds in 2009. He’s at 167 through 109 games. If he’d maintained that rate, he’d have recorded his 224th strikeout in his 147th game played.

Murakami got too far under the ball today, hitting flies with launch angles of 40, 54 and 72 degrees that all combined had a .010 xBA. Since hitting his 29th homer on Aug. 18, he’s 4-for-41 with no RBI in 11 games.

Murakami drew a walk in the first inning, then led off the third with a solo homer off Kevin Gausman, a 111.1 mph blast at 406 feet. It was his third home run in five games. The 26-year-old rookie slugger is up to 29 homers, 67 runs scored, and 58 RBI in just 393 plate appearances while slashing .234/.372/.545.

That homer puts Murakami up to 28 homers on the season; an impressive total even before you consider he missed time with his hamstring injury. The 26-year-old rookie has gone deep four times in the month of August, which has helped compensate for his less-than-ideal .188 average for the month. Murakami is going to frustrate at times — that’s a bit of an understatement — but the power production helps turn the bitter into better.

Murakami crushed a Jackson Jobe 3-0 fastball for a 392-foot (110.0-mph EV) solo shot as part of a five-run uprising in the fourth inning. He also walked and scored on a two-run shot by Miguel Vargas in the sixth inning. For the season, the 26-year-old slugger is now slashing .235/.370/.539 with 27 long balls and 55 RBI in what has been an impactful rookie campaign.

It appears to be just a routine rest day for Murakami after a night game. Since coming off the injured list in mid-July, Murakami has hit .225/.347/.480 with six homers and 13 RBI in 27 games.

Murakami also drew a walk. The 26-year-old has gone deep 26 times in his first taste of MLB action, and the two-reach game improves his slash to .237/.370/.540. That average seems to be as good as it can get for Murakami because of his immense swing-and-miss issues, but if he gets on at this kind of clip with this kind of power, it’s worth it.

Murakami hit his 24th homer of the season in the third inning off of Nick Martinez. His two-run blast pushed the White Sox out to a 4-0 lead and was one of four homers the White Sox managed on the night. Murakami’s two-hit night pushed his hitting streak to eight-straight games, as he ends the month of July slashing .258/.395/.532 with four homers and 10 RBI.

This was a candidate for game of the year so far. Down 4-0 before coming up in the first inning, the White Sox hung around, mounted a huge comeback in the eighth, and eked out a win with a walk-off hit in the 12th. Murakami was a huge part of that eighth inning rally hitting back-to-back home runs with Sam Antonacci and tying this game up. He also scampered home as the ghost runner in the 11th when the Yankees tried to back-pick him at third in an awful play. After needing a beat to get his timing back, Murakami now has three home runs and an .888 OPS in 15 games since returning from the injured list. That’s also come with a nearly 41% strikeout rate.

Murakami now has 22 home runs this season. He hit a two-run shot off Ronel Blanco in the first inning and a solo shot off Astros reliever Miguel Ullola in the eighth inning. Murakami’s home run was his first since May 27 against the Twins. Entering play Sunday, he was 8-for-42 (.190) with two RBI, 19 strikeouts and 12 walks in his last 13 games. Murakami’s hitting .239 with a .921 OPS and 48 RBI.