MLB season buzz: homers

Two early April swings are driving Major League Baseball chatter: Munetaka Murakami hit his fifth home run on April 14, and the Los Angeles Angels opened the same night with three straight home runs by Mike Trout, Jo Adell and Jorge Soler. (mlb.com 1) (mlb.com 2) Murakami’s shot came for the Chicago White Sox against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. Major League Baseball’s official video labeled it his fifth homer of the season, and home run trackers listed it at 398 feet with a 110.8 mile-per-hour exit velocity. (youtube.com) (onlyhomers.com) Murakami is 26 and made his Major League debut on March 26, 2026 after a star career in Japan. His first Major League hit was a home run on Opening Day, and he homered again in his second career game before reaching five by April 14. (mlb.com 1) (mlb.com 2) (mlb.com 3) The Angels’ burst happened in the first inning at Yankee Stadium in a 7-1 win over New York on April 14. Trout started it, Adell followed, and Soler made it three in a row on consecutive at-bats against Ryan Weathers. (mlb.com 1) (mlb.com 2) Major League Baseball said it was the Angels’ first back-to-back-to-back home run sequence since June 24, 2023, when Trout, Brandon Drury and Matt Thaiss did it at Colorado. Adell’s homer traveled 445 feet, Trout’s went 432 feet, and Soler’s went 399 feet. (mlb.com) (onlyhomers.com) For Trout, the sequence added to a hot start after injury-shortened recent seasons. Major League Baseball said the April 14 homer was his third in two games, and Yahoo, citing Major League Baseball researcher Sarah Langs and Elias Sports, said Trout has now been part of six back-to-back-to-back home run strings, tied with Adrián Beltré and J.D. Drew for the most in the expansion era that began in 1961. (mlb.com) (sports.yahoo.com) The two clips are also reaching fans for different reasons. Murakami’s swing feeds interest in how quickly a Japanese slugger can adjust to Major League pitching, while the Angels’ inning put three established power hitters in one highlight before many viewers had settled into the game. (mlb.com) (mlb.com) The standings underline how early the season still is. After games on April 14, the White Sox were 6-11 and the Angels were 8-9, so both home run moments landed before either club had built much separation in the American League race. (espn.com) (mlb.com) That is why these swings traveled so quickly online: one came from a newcomer who reached five home runs before mid-April, and the other packed three home runs into five pitches in the first inning. (youtube.com) (washingtonpost.com)