'ML Home Run Leader' Japanese Slugger Truly Insane! 5-Game Home Run Streak Ends → Rest Day, Then Home Run Again and Again, Team Secures Dramatic Comeback Victory

*This content was translated by AI.

Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami (26, Chicago White Sox) is displaying a home run pace that can only be described as truly insane.

On the 25th (Korean time), Murakami started at third in the batting order and first base in the 2026 MLB regular-season home game against the Washington Nationals at Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He went 1-for-3 with 1 RBI, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, and 1 run scored, leading the White Sox to a 5-4 victory.

As a result, Murakami's regular-season statistics stand at a .256 batting average (90 at-bats, 23 hits), 11 home runs, 20 RBIs, 25 walks, 36 strikeouts, a .398 on-base percentage, a .622 slugging percentage, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 1.020 across 26 games.

Though he recorded only a single hit, it was packed with value. With the White Sox trailing 0-1 in the bottom of the 4th inning, Murakami lifted a low outside changeup from Miles Mikolas over the center-field wall. The ball, traveling 415 feet at 104 mph, became his 11th home run of the season.

With this home run, Murakami tied Jordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros for first place overall in the MLB in home runs.

The home run, coming just one day after his consecutive-game home run streak ended at five, drew even more applause. Murakami had attracted attention by hitting home runs in five consecutive games starting from the the 18th game against the Athletics.

Murakami's five-game consecutive home run streak is the first by a Japanese MLB player. Previously, Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs) held the record with four consecutive games. In White Sox franchise history, only seven players have achieved this feat: Ron Kittle and Greg Luzinski (both in 1983), Frank Thomas (twice in 1994), Carlos Lee (2003), Paul Konerko (2011), and A.J. Pierzynski (2012).

As a player not known for strong contact hitting, there were concerns about a slump once his consecutive home run streak ended. However, he silenced those worries with a technically sound swing that cleared the center-field wall, earning renewed applause.

Meanwhile, the White Sox also rode the momentum to secure the victory. Both teams, utilizing bullpen days, engaged in a fierce scoring battle. After giving up a home run to Murakami, the Nationals still managed to score two runs in the top of the 5th inning on three walks and a single, taking a 3-1 lead.

However, in the bottom of the 6th with two outs and runners on second and third, Colson Montgomery's RBI single to right field tied the game. In the bottom of the 7th with no outs and runners on first and second, Tristan Peters' bunt single also tied the score at 3-3. Washington pitcher Riley Cornelio fielded the bunt and made a throwing error to first base, allowing the tying run.

Following that, Andrew Benintendi hit a sacrifice fly to center field for an RBI, giving the White Sox a 4-3 lead. The Nationals responded in the top of the 8th when Brady House hit a home run to left-center field, tying the game at 4-4. But the dramatic comeback was completed in the bottom of the 8th with one out and runners on second and third, as Sam Antonacci's sacrifice fly to left field drove in the go-ahead run.

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*This content was translated by AI.