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Apr 19, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami (5) jogs around the bases after hitting a two run home run during the fifth inning against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Scott Marshall-Imagn Images <\/p>\n
As Arizona right-hander Merrill Kelly settles into the place he feels most at home, Chicago White Sox newcomer Munetaka Murakami is finding an immediate fit in his South Side neighborhood.<\/p>\n
The two will meet when Kelly (1-0, 3.38 ERA) faces right-hander Sean Burke (0-2, 4.43) in the first game of a three-game series Tuesday in Phoenix.<\/p>\n
Murakami has made quite a splash since signing a two-year, $34 million free-agent contract in the offseason following eight years with the Yakult Swallows of the Japan Central League.<\/p>\n
The rookie first baseman hit three homers a three-game set against the Athletics, including one of Chicago’s four dingers in a 7-4 victory Sunday to give the team just its second series win of the season.<\/p>\n
Murakami has eight homers, more than any Japanese-born player through his first 22 games, making his deal look like a bargain thus far.<\/p>\n
“Guy’s got stupid juice,” White Sox right-hander Davis Martin told reporters.<\/p>\n
Martin was speaking after Murakami’s clinching grand slam in a 9-2 win Friday, a ball that cleared the batter’s eye at Sutter Health Park and was estimated at 431 feet.<\/p>\n
“I got more than 431,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “I don’t know who is doing that calculation, but that ball was touched right there.”<\/p>\n
Murakami’s homer Sunday was estimated at 425 feet.<\/p>\n
“I just love having all the points come up from all the lineup and everybody contributing to the team,” Murakami said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kelly will make his first home start of the season after snubbing a more lucrative offer from San Diego in his first taste of free agency over the winter. He received a prolonged ovation when he was introduced before the D-Bbacks’ home opener March 30, although he was on the injured list and could not play.<\/p>\n
“I’ve been here my whole big-league career, and that means something to me,” said Kelly, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract in the offseason. The Padres offered three years for $60 million.<\/p>\n
“I’m grateful to the organization for having that much faith in me. Not only the guys in the clubhouse that I enjoy being around, but also the team on the field. I felt like it was a very competitive team.”<\/p>\n
The Diamondbacks have won 10 of 14 and have not lost a series since being swept at the Los Angeles Dodgers to open the season.<\/p>\n
The White Sox had lost 8 of 10 before taking two of three against the A’s.<\/p>\n
Kelly missed the first three weeks of the season with an intercostal nerve irritation before returning in a 4-3 victory at Baltimore last Tuesday. He gave up two runs and five hits, with three strikeouts and four walks.<\/p>\n
His takeaway?<\/p>\n
“That we won. That’s the first and foremost goal,” said Kelly, who pitched five scoreless innings in his one rehab start for Triple-A Reno. “It’s always nice to come back and get that first one out of the way.<\/p>\n
“The health stuff, I think, is in the rear-view mirror. But there were definitely some butterflies. I think my brain knows I’m going into a big-league game with something that matters. The speed is definitely different for sure.”<\/p>\n
Kelly is 2-1 in three career starts against the White Sox, the last a 9-3 victory in West Sacramento last season after he had been sent to Texas prior to the trade deadline.<\/p>\n
Burke beat the D-Backs 7-3 last season, his only appearance against them. He did not allow an earned run in five innings.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–Field Level Media<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apr 19, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami (5) jogs around the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":680270,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2379],"tags":[5,138,49,2561,4,396,2562],"class_list":{"0":"post-680269","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-white-sox","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-white-sox","11":"tag-chicagowhitesox","12":"tag-mlb","13":"tag-white-sox","14":"tag-whitesox"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116442331694362989","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=680269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=680269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=680269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=680269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}