Murakami and Romo power White Sox past Twins

Murakami’s AL-leading – After a chilly West Coast stretch, the White Sox snapped back to their power ways at Guaranteed Rate Field on Monday. Munetaka Murakami hit his AL-leading 18th home run, Drew Romo added a two-run shot, and Anthony Kay backed it with six strong innings as Chica

CHICAGO — The White Sox arrived at Guaranteed Rate Field after a six-game West Coast road trip that didn’t feel like them.

Entering Monday, they had scored 48.1% of their runs via the home run, ranking second in the Majors. Then they hit just four solo home runs across the trip, scored 24 runs, and went 2-4 against the Mariners and Giants.

So when the long ball returned, it wasn’t just a highlight—it was a release. In the series opener against the Twins, Chicago clubbed two homers and used them to beat Minnesota 3-1. Munetaka Murakami opened the scoring with a solo blast, and Drew Romo followed with a two-run shot. The win moved the White Sox over .500 to 27-26 and landed them in a Wild Card spot nearly a third of the way into the season.

“I mean, personally, I haven’t been on a team .500 or above for a few years,” Romo said. “I haven’t been on a team this good in a long time. So seeing how talented we are, seeing us perform day in and day out, winning ballgames, that fires me up.

“And I’m pumped to go out there and compete every night. I feel super confident in our team, our guys, that we can beat anybody. So, yeah, it’s been a lot of fun.”

Murakami’s home run was the kind of moment fans had been waiting for. His AL-leading 18th came in the bottom of the first on a 97.5 mph four-seamer from Twins starter Zebby Matthews. The ball left the bat at 105.7 mph. traveled 375 feet. and would have been a home run in every MLB park but Fenway. It tied the game after Brooks Lee had given Minnesota a lead in the top of the frame.

For Murakami, it also ended something personal. He had been in a home run drought by his standards, going seven games without a long ball—his second-longest stretch without one since an eight-game stretch in April. This one was his first since a two-homer game against the Cubs on May 16.

“Always nice to have Mune homers. and these guys who go through these stretches certainly understand the concern. ” White Sox manager Will Venable said after the win. “But for us, Mune continues to take really good swings. He’s making good swing decisions. He has been consistent about how he’s taking his at-bats. consistent in how he goes about his day and his preparation.

“No concerns for us, but obviously very happy to see a Mune homer.”

Romo’s swing came at the next moment that mattered. In the inning after Murakami’s homer, Romo hit his fifth home run of the season to give the White Sox a lead they would not relinquish.

“Hitters and the coaches, we had a great meeting and great preparation going into it, great plan of attack and I went up there, first pitch of the game I saw I was ready for it and executed,” Romo continued. “So, it was good to do that for the team.”

Murakami also made history in the lineup. The White Sox became the third team in MLB history to have two Japanese-born position players in the same starting lineup with the duo of Murakami and Rikuu Nishida. joining the Phillies (2008) and Mariners (2012). Nishida. making his MLB debut. collected his first Major League hit in the fourth inning with a single to center field.

On the mound, Anthony Kay didn’t need fireworks for long—just control. After Lee’s first-inning home run, Kay settled in and turned in six innings of one-run ball on five hits with five strikeouts.

The left-hander has been trending up for the White Sox this month. He has thrown five or more innings and allowed two or fewer earned runs in his last five starts. He has a 1.98 ERA, and the White Sox are 5-0 in games he’s started in May.

Kay came back for the sixth and bookended a pair of strikeouts around a groundout to first base to match a career-high in innings pitched. Behind him, Romo worked with the kind of confidence that lets a catcher lean into his calls. Kay “shook off Romo ‘a couple of times,’” the catcher said, using his confidence to pick up the two punchouts.

“Just conviction [in] what I really wanted there, especially so late in the game,” Kay said. “I knew what was working best for me and what was a good strike pitch in those counts and I think having that conviction is massive.”

White Sox Twins Munetaka Murakami Drew Romo Anthony Kay Zebby Matthews Brooks Lee Rikuu Nishida AL leading home run