Munetaka

Murakami

Murakami had an awful day at the plate, and that included a strikeout with the bases loaded in one of the very few chances the White Sox created any sort of chaos. The 26-year-old’s swing-and-miss was readily apparent throughout the season — that’s really an understatement — but so was his power with 35 homers in his 127 games. The average will always be an issue, but Murakami’s power, potential to drive in runs and draw walks will make him relevant in leagues for the next few years at least.

With left-hander Parker Messick taking the ball for the Guardians, Antonacci will begin this one on the bench for the White Sox. Fellow left-handed hitters Andrew Benintendi and Tristan Peters will also take a seat for the Southsiders. Here’s how Will Venable’s club will line up as they look to punch their ticket to the ALCS on Thursday: Chase Meidroth (2B), Randal Grichuk (LF), Miguel Vargas (3B), Munetaka Murakami (1B), Tommy Pham (DH), Brenton Doyle (CF), Kyle Teel (C), Braden Montgomery (RF) and Colson Montgomery (SS).

Parker Messick left a breaking-ball near the eyes of Murakami, and he took advantage with a moonshot off the left-hander that gave the White Sox a 2-0 lead and Murakami his first ever postseason homer. It traveled an estimated 440 feet with an exit velocity of 112.1 mph. The 26-year-old also singled and has forged a .273/.308/.545 slash in his first three playoff contests. Chicago now has a 1-0 lead in the series, and will look to steal another game in Cleveland on Monday after a day off.

Murakami opened the scoring with an RBI sacrifice fly in his first career postseason at-bat before helping to manufacture two additional runs when he reached base and came around to score in the fifth and seventh innings, respectively. The 26-year-old rookie slugger finished the regular season with 35 home runs in 553 plate appearances, effectively silencing any fantasy analysts who questioned whether his contact issues would hold him back in his big-league debut.

Murakami blasted a 403-foot homer off of Tomoyuki Sugano in the bottom of the first inning to put the White Sox up 2-0, and would get the best of Sugano again in the seventh inning on another solo homer to extend Chicago’s lead to 4-1. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Murakami would single to drive home Sam Antonacci, pushing his RBI total to 77 on the season. Murakami is now sitting on 35 homers with two games left to go in the regular season for the White Sox.

Murakami’s home run was his 33rd of the season. He hit a two-run shot off Royals reliever Tony Gonsolin in the seventh inning. Murakami has two home runs and seven RBI over his last five games. He’s hitting .203 with an .817 OPS and 72 RBI with five games left in the regular season.

Murakami got the White Sox on the board in impressive fashion in the first inning on Thursday, crushing a first-pitch sinker from Framber Valdez for a towering 423-foot (109.1-mph EV) three-run blast to center. That would be all of the offense that the White Sox would need. The 26-year-old rookie slugger is now slashing .205/.346/.471 with 32 homers, 68 RBI and a 183/87 K/BB ratio in 512 plate appearances.

Murakami hasn’t been a platoon bat for the White Sox this season, but he has slashed just .179/.331/.368 with six homers, 18 RBI and a 54/26 K/BB ratio over 145 plate appearances against southpaws this season, so maybe this will be a trend going forward. Miguel Vargas will shift over to first base with Colson Montgomery covering the hot corner and Luisangel Acuna drawing a start at shortstop and batting ninth against Cardinals’ left-hander Matthew Liberatore.

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’s home run was his 30th of the season. He hit a two-run shot off Taj Bradley in the first inning. Murakami had been in a 1-for-24 (.042) slump over his last seven games entering play Saturday. The home run was his first since August 18 against the Cubs, a span of 16 games. Murakami is hitting .211 with an .832 OPS and 61 RBI on the year.