'Surpassing Lee Dae-ho, a new history after 126 years!' Japan's Murakami blasts a go-ahead three-run homer in the final inning, his 12th of the season, to claim sole MLB lead... CWS also secures a dramatic comeback victory

*This content was translated by AI.

Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami (26, Chicago White Sox) reclaimed the top spot in home runs across Major League Baseball with a massive arc just three days later.

On the 28th (Korean time), Murakami started at second in the batting order and first base in the 2026 MLB regular-season home game against the Los Angeles Angels at Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois, USA, going 2-for-4 with one home run, three RBIs, and one run scored, leading the White Sox to an 8-7 comeback victory.

As a result, Murakami's regular-season stats are now a .243 batting average (103 at-bats, 25 hits), 12 home runs, 23 RBIs, 25 walks, 41 strikeouts, a .373 on-base percentage, a .592 slugging percentage, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.965.

Murakami had been silent in his previous two games, going 0-for-9, but on this day he immediately connected in his first at-bat, driving a fastball inside from Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz to the right field for a base hit. In his next two at-bats, he flew out to center field in the bottom of the 3rd inning and grounded out to first base in the bottom of the 5th. Murakami, who was timing his swings carefully, finally let his bat explode at the crucial moment.

With the White Sox trailing 1-5, leadoff batter Sam Antonia reached base on a shortstop error in the bottom of the 7th. Chase Meidroth then bunted for a base hit, creating a no-out situation with runners on first and second. The Angels' pitcher was changed from Kochanowicz to Nick Sandlin.

The Angels' crisis continued. Tristan Peters hit a sacrifice fly to score one run, and Edgar Quero was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. With Andrew Benintendi's two-RBI double to right field, the White Sox had cut the deficit to 4-5 with runners on second and third and no outs when Murakami's turn at bat arrived.

Facing Murakami, the Angels once again changed their pitcher to left-hander Drew Pomeranz. It made no difference. Murakami missed the first pitch, which was outside the strike zone, and appeared unable to time the outside pitch. However, he connected with a low, poorly located fifth pitch and sent it soaring over the right-field fence at his home stadium, creating a 7-5 comeback lead.

The ball, traveling at 95.8 mph (approximately 154.2 km/h), traveled 382 feet (approximately 116 meters) and became his 12th home run of the season. With this home run, Murakami surpassed Jordan Alvarez (Houston Astros) and Aaron Judge (New York Yankees) to take sole first place in the MLB home run race.

This home run also evoked the name of Lee Dae-ho (44, retired), familiar to Korean baseball fans, and the long-standing history of Major League Baseball. MLB.com statistics expert Sara Lang wrote on her social media: "Murakami's first 12 extra-base hits in the majors were all home runs."

She added, "This is the longest streak of consecutive extra-base hits by a player debuting in the majors since at least 1900. The previous record was Lee Dae-ho's 10 consecutive extra-base hits during his time with the Seattle Mariners in 2016." Murakami's home run, which surpassed Lee Dae-ho and created a new history after 126 years in the majors, was even more valuable as it led his team to victory.

The White Sox were struggling as starting pitcher Anthony Kay gave up seven hits, four walks (two walks and two hit-by-pitches), and two strikeouts over four innings, allowing four earned runs. However, reliever Osvaldo Bido stabilized the situation by pitching three innings, allowing two hits (one home run), no walks, two strikeouts, and one earned run. Following that, the White Sox scored seven runs in the 7th inning alone, including Murakami's home run and Miguel Vargas' back-to-back home runs, achieving a sudden comeback.

The Angels scored one run in the top of the 9th inning but could not overturn the deficit, losing 6-8. Angels starter Kochanowicz pitched well for six innings, allowing five hits, one walk, five strikeouts, and three earned runs (two unearned), but the bullpen's collapse cost him the win.

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*This content was translated by AI.