Munetaka Murakami Launches 440-Foot Homer as White Sox Take ALDS Opener

Munetaka Murakami launched a 440-foot two-run home run for his first Major League postseason homer, sending the Chicago White Sox to a 3-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday.

Murakami’s fourth-inning drive broke a scoreless tie at Progressive Field and gave Chicago all the offense it needed. The White Sox pitching staff held Cleveland to three hits, with Grant Taylor finishing the shutout by recording a rare four-inning save.

Murakami breaks through on the first pitch

Miguel Vargas opened the fourth with a single against Guardians rookie Parker Messick. Murakami then attacked Messick’s first-pitch sinker, driving it deep into the right-field seats for a 2-0 lead.

The homer traveled a Statcast-projected 440 feet and left the bat at 112.2 mph. Murakami paused briefly to watch it before celebrating toward the White Sox dugout.

It was a timely response after a quiet Wild Card Series. Murakami and Vargas had combined to go 1-for-17 without an extra-base hit during Chicago’s two-game sweep of Houston. In the ALDS opener, they combined for three hits, two runs and both RBIs on the decisive swing.

Murakami became the fourth White Sox rookie to homer in the postseason. The others were Luis Robert Jr. in 2020, Gavin Sheets in 2021 and Tadahito Iguchi during Chicago’s 2005 championship run.

Chicago pitching repeatedly escapes trouble

The Guardians loaded the bases in both the third and fourth innings but failed to score. Bryan Hudson ended the first threat by getting Chase DeLauter to fly out, while Anthony Kay escaped the next inning when Bryan Rocchio also flew out with three runners aboard.

Taylor entered in the sixth and handled the final 12 outs. He allowed one hit and struck out six, including all three batters in the ninth, to complete the four-inning save.

Chicago added an insurance run in the seventh. Kyle Teel walked, and Colson Montgomery doubled down the left-field line. Teel scored when his slide knocked the ball loose at home plate.

White Sox remain unbeaten in October

The White Sox have not trailed in three postseason games. They swept the Astros in the Wild Card Series before taking the opener of the best-of-five ALDS in Cleveland.

Murakami hit 35 home runs during his first MLB regular season after joining Chicago on a two-year contract. His first October homer gave the White Sox a 1-0 series lead and guaranteed that the series will return to Chicago for at least one home game.

Game 2 is scheduled for Monday in Cleveland, with the Guardians set to start Gavin Williams.