Murakami ties – Munetaka Murakami hit his AL-leading 19th homer in the 8th to tie the game, but the Minnesota Twins beat the White Sox 5-3 in 11 innings. After Nishida’s key throws kept the game level, Brooks Lee’s 11th-inning double with the bases loaded cleared the wall and
Tuesday night at Rate Field had the familiar rhythm of a tight AL Central game—until it didn’t. When Munetaka Murakami stepped in later than the night’s bigger swings would suggest, the crowd finally found something to believe in.
Murakami. one of the Japanese duo energizing White Sox fans for a second straight night. launched his AL-leading 19th home run in the 8th inning. With Rikuu Nishida on base via a single. Murakami tied the score 2-2 with a two-run shot off a low sweeper. The ball climbed 380 feet into the right-field stands, and for a moment, the South Side’s patience turned into roar.
But the game stayed stubbornly alive for the Twins, and Nishida’s defense kept the Sox from slipping. Still learning right field, he threw out his second runner at the plate in two days. This time. he cleanly gunned down Kody Clemens—the Twins’ automatic runner in the 10th—off pinch-hitter Orlando Arcia’s single for the third out. The throw preserved the tie at 2.
In the bottom of the 10th, Nishida struck out while fouling off a bunt for a third strike. Then, with one out in the 11th’s prelude, the Sox looked to have a real chance. Murakami grounded into a funky double play with the potential winning run—pinch automatic runner Luisangel Acuna—at third. Twins first baseman Josh Bell completed the twin killing unassisted when he caught Sam Antonacci off the bag.
The build-up of small moments finally cracked in the 11th. Brooks Lee launched a double off Tyler Davis with the bases loaded, and the ball sailed over Nishida to the wall, scoring all three runners. Minnesota then took the lead for good, winning 5-3 for the fifth time in six games.
The Sox added a run in the bottom of the 11th, but it didn’t change the outcome.
Murakami’s homer gave the evening its shine—yet it left him facing the same truth baseball always demands: chances don’t always become runs. After the loss, Murakami said through a translator, “It’s obviously disappointing that we got a tough loss today. I just came up in the last at-bat. and I had my chances. I just couldn’t covert [Acuna from third]. I could have hit that fly out and, you know, scored a run.”.
The ending undercut a spirited start for the Sox as well. Right-hander Sean Burke. who came into the game after feeling ill the last couple of days. allowed just two runs and three hits in seven innings. He struck out eight, walked two, and retired the last 11 Twins he faced, despite the earlier sickness lingering behind him. Burke said. “I honestly felt like my legs were under me. and I felt a lot better as the game went on. Tonight it felt like me and [catcher Drew] Romo were on a good page. We had a good game plan coming in.”.
For all the energy Murakami drew—fans even chanting “MVP” during his final at-bat—the Twins’ 11th inning finally took it away.
With the loss, the White Sox fell back to .500 at 27-27, while the Twins improved their position in the AL Central, closing to half a game behind the second-place Sox.
White Sox Twins Murakami Nishida Rate Field AL Central 11 innings Brooks Lee Sean Burke Josh Bell