Murakami Hits 10 Fast

Munetaka Murakami hit his 10th home run in Chicago’s 24th game, becoming the fastest Japanese player to reach 10 Major League homers. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2) The blast came in the seventh inning at Chase Field on April 22, a 454-foot drive off Diamondbacks reliever Ryan Thompson. (mlb.com) Murakami’s homer was his fifth straight game with a long ball, tying an MLB rookie record and giving him 10 homers through 24 team games. (usnews.com) Those 10 homers moved Murakami to solo second in MLB home-run standings behind Houston’s Yordan Álvarez (11) as the Dodgers and Giants prepared to play on April 22. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2) (espn.com 3) Chicago’s centerpiece has outpaced other Japanese arrivals: MLB noted Murakami had eight homers in his first 22 games — twice as many as Shohei Ohtani, Seiya Suzuki and Masataka Yoshida through the same span. (mlb.com) Murakami’s Statcast profile shows elite power metrics this month, with a barrel rate and average exit velocity among the top five in MLB (minimum qualifiers). (mlb.com) The 26-year-old starred in Nippon Professional Baseball, hitting 56 homers in 2022 and breaking Sadaharu Oh’s single-season NPB mark before signing with the White Sox this offseason. (mlb.com) (mlb.com) “I've run out of things to say,” White Sox manager Will Venable said after the homer, praising Murakami’s swing decisions and hard contact. (usnews.com) Murakami will attempt to extend the streak in Thursday’s game at Chase Field as the White Sox continue their Arizona road trip. (espn.com)