Munetaka Murakami Tied Aaron Judge for the League Lead in Homers, and the White Sox Look Unstoppable Right Now

The Chicago White Sox are on a tear, and Munetaka Murakami is leading the charge. The 26-year-old Japanese star crushed a 429-foot two-run homer in Monday's series opener against the Los Angeles Angels, his 14th of the season. That blast tied him with New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge for the major league lead in home runs. But here's what made the night even better for Murakami: two innings later, he ripped his first double in 35 major league games, lining a bullet just inside the right-field line for an easy trip to second base.

"It was my first double, obviously," Murakami told reporters through his translator on the Chicago Sports Network. "Turning on the base was a bit hard for me. That was kind of interesting."

The White Sox are riding serious momentum right now. Chicago won 6-0 on Monday and has won six of their last seven games. They've beaten the Angels four times in eight days and have climbed into third place in the American League Central, sitting just half a game back of both Cleveland and Detroit. This is especially impressive given that the White Sox endured three straight 100-loss seasons before this surge.

The Whole Lineup Is Locked In

Monday's blowout wasn't just about Murakami. Andrew Benintendi went off with four hits and an RBI. Jarred Keleric added three hits. Miguel Vargas homered along with two other hits. Sam Antonacci chipped in two hits as well. The White Sox out-hit the Angels 16-5, a complete offensive takeover. Murakami himself finished with three hits and three runs scored.

"We're putting a lot of runs on the board, and all the pitchers are doing really, really well," Murakami said. "We just want to keep continuing the success as a team and just keep going."

Angels in Free Fall

Los Angeles is spiraling in the other direction. The Angels have lost 13 of their last 15 games. Even worse, they've scored two or fewer runs nine times during that brutal stretch. Angels manager Kurt Suzuki acknowledged the reality after Monday's loss: "We've just got to trust our work. There's no mystery. We're struggling. I mean, there's no other way around it. Sometimes you just got to face it and believe in what you're doing and that it's the right thing and just keep going every single day."

The Angels will send left-hander Sam Aldegheri to the mound Tuesday night. The 24-year-old was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Monday. He's 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA in his limited big league time, though his numbers at Triple-A are rougher at 1-3 with a 7.77 ERA across five starts this season. "It always feels good to come back here and have the opportunity to play at the biggest level," Aldegheri said. "I'm ready to do whatever the team needs of me."

Chicago will counter with right-hander Erick Fedde (0-3, 3.24 ERA), who threw seven solid innings against the Angels last Wednesday in a 3-2 extra-inning Chicago victory.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.