​Munetaka Murakami is returning to the Chicago White Sox just in time after the team managed only two runs across three consecutive losses to the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox sealed the series sweep Thursday with a 2-1 victory in front of 19,148 fans at Rate Field. The White Sox, now 47-45, find themselves tied for first place in the American League Central with Cleveland (48-46) following the defeat and the Guardians’ 5-2 win over the Minnesota Twins. Their hope for an offensive boost comes with Murakami’s return from the injured list, where he has been sidelined since May 30 due to a right hamstring strain.
“We anticipate activating Mune tomorrow,” manager Will Venable said. “He was challenged running the bases, defensively, had a really long game yesterday with Triple-A Charlotte. So we feel good about the workload, recovered well today, and he’s ready to go.” Murakami had two injury rehab games this week with the Knights, going 2-for-7.
“I think it’s going to be a great jolt,” Venable added. “That’s real. We understand the impact he makes on the field and in the clubhouse, so activating him will mean a lot for our group. Really excited about him.” The ramp-up in his rehab has been rapid, so the team plans to monitor his day-to-day status and stay in close communication with him about how he feels.
Since Murakami went on the IL, the Sox have gone 17-18 and have dropped six of eight, including being swept for the fifth time this season during the three-game set against the Red Sox. The White Sox tallied four hits in each of the first two games of the series and totaled seven hits on Thursday, with two coming from Colson Montgomery.
“We just couldn’t solve for some really good left-handed pitching today,” Venable said. “Credit to the guys on the other side. They were extremely tough and were able to neutralize some players we’ve seen, especially against left-handed pitching. Guys like Miguel Vargas and Randal Grichuk have done a great job all year. We just got beat. We tried to make a bunch of adjustments, and these guys were working hard pregame to solve the dynamic fastballs these lefties had, but we weren’t able to solve it. I don’t want to label this one a slump, but it’s a series where we weren’t able to produce offensively, which is uncharacteristic for us.”
The lone White Sox run on Thursday came on an Andrew Benintendi RBI infield single in the fifth inning. “It’s a long year,” Benintendi commented. “We played really well at home for 10 series in a row. It was bound to happen at some point. You’ll go through a rough stretch. Credit to them; they pitched really, really well. We scored two runs in three games. That’s not something we typically do here.”
White Sox starter Anthony Kay pitched well in the loss, giving up two runs on the mound, as the team looks to lean on Murakami’s return to help steady the lineup and restore offensive balance in a division race that remains tight as the season progresses.