Murakami’s hot start

Munetaka Murakami homered Sunday for the third straight game, extending the loudest power surge of his first month with the Chicago White Sox. (mlb.com) The homer came in a 7-4 White Sox win over the Athletics at Sutter Health Park on April 19, one day after Murakami hit his seventh homer in an 11-inning loss. He has eight home runs through 22 major-league games. (mlb.com) (espn.com) MLB.com reported Saturday that Murakami’s seven homers were already the most by a Japanese-born player in his first 21 MLB games. His eighth on Sunday pushed that mark higher. (mlb.com) (baseball-reference.com) This is the second time Murakami has homered in three straight games in the same month. He also went deep in each of his first three MLB games from March 27 through March 29 after debuting on March 26. (mlb.com) (baseball-reference.com) Murakami arrived with a power résumé that made this kind of streak plausible, even if the timing is early. The White Sox signed him to a two-year, $34 million contract on December 21, 2025, after he hit 56 home runs in 2022 for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, the most ever in one Nippon Professional Baseball season by a Japanese-born player. (mlb.com) (espn.com) The questions around him were never about raw power. Before he signed, MLB.com and ESPN both noted concerns about swing-and-miss, especially against velocity and pitches in the strike zone, along with uncertainty about his long-term defensive home at first base or third base. (mlb.com) (espn.com) His early stat line shows both sides at once. Through 22 games, ESPN lists him at a.208 batting average with a.376 on-base percentage,.542 slugging percentage,.918 OPS, 20 walks and 31 strikeouts. (espn.com) That mix fits what Chicago bought in December: a 26-year-old left-handed bat with top-end home run power and some contact risk, joining a club still building around younger position players. The White Sox entered Sunday at 8-14, but Murakami’s first 22 games have given them a middle-of-the-order threat immediately. (mlb.com) (espn.com) For now, the simplest way to understand his start is the most direct one: Murakami has reached the majors, and the ball is already leaving the yard in bunches. (mlb.com)