Munetaka Murakami's 12th Blast Sparks 7-Run Seventh as White Sox Stun Angels

The Chicago White Sox came back from four runs down to absolutely demolish the Los Angeles Angels in a seven-run seventh inning explosion, winning 8-7 on Monday night. The Angels are now losers of four straight and have dropped eight of their last nine games. Yeah, it's rough out there in Los Angeles right now.

The Murakami Moment That Changed Everything

Munetaka Murakami walked up to the plate in the seventh inning and didn't waste any time. He crushed a go-ahead three-run homer off reliever Drew Pomeranz that had all the juice you could want. That blast? It's his major league-leading 12th of the season. One pitch. Game over. Then Miguel Vargas followed immediately with a solo shot to pile on the misery for the Angels.

The White Sox came into that seventh trailing by four, but a rally was already building. Tristan Peters started things with an RBI single, and Andrew Benintendi doubled down with a two-run double to set up the table for Murakami. The Angels had no answer once the bats got hot.

Angels Had It All Early, Then Let It Slip Away

Los Angeles came out firing. After a three-hour rain delay, the Angels scored one in the first inning on a Jorge Soler sacrifice fly off White Sox starter Anthony Kay. They got two more in the second when Bryce Teodosio doubled home a run and Zach Neto followed with an RBI single. Then in the fourth, with the bases loaded, Vaughn Grissom sent a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0.

Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz was dealing too. After allowing singles to Murakami and Colson Montgomery in the first, he gave up just one baserunner over the next three innings. By the fifth, Benintendi's RBI forceout made it 4-1, but Soler answered back with a solo home run in the seventh to keep it at 5-4. Then the White Sox came alive and it all fell apart.

White Sox Seal It

Grant Taylor took the ninth and allowed a Nolan Schanuel bloop double with two outs that pulled the Angels closer, but Bryan Hudson came through in the clutch. Hudson got Adam Frazier to ground out to second with two runners in scoring position to earn his first save of the season.

The Angels had plenty of firepower, with Mike Trout, Grissom, Schanuel, and Teodosio each recording two hits. Soler chipped in three RBIs. But four runs just wasn't enough when the White Sox got hot.

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