Murakami's 393-Foot Bomb Breaks Detroit's Back in 7-5 White Sox Win
Munetaka Murakami crushed a two-run homer to left center in the seventh inning that swung Detroit's win probability from 46% to 20%, turning a tight game into a Chicago statement. The White Sox rallied from a three-run deficit to beat the Tigers 7-5 on Sunday, with three different CHW hitters going deep.
Detroit looked in control early. Brett Callahan's triple to right in the second plated two runs, and a Clark single moments later pushed it to 3-0. Colt Keith added a solo shot to left — 354 feet — in the third to stretch the lead to 4-1, and the Tigers appeared to have all the answers. Drew Anderson was doing enough damage control on the mound, working five innings and allowing three earned runs while striking out five. The story of the first half of this game was Detroit's offense setting the table and Chicago scrambling to keep pace.
Then the White Sox started chipping. Drew Romo's two-run homer to right — 386 feet — in the fifth cut it to 4-3, and Colson Montgomery's RBI single to center in the sixth knotted it at four. That's when the game shifted for good. In the seventh, Murakami sent one 393 feet to left center, scoring Antonacci ahead of him, and just like that it was 6-4 Chicago. Detroit answered immediately — a Dingler double to left scored Torres to make it 6-5 — but the White Sox weren't giving this one back. Miguel Vargas put it away with a solo shot to left in the ninth, 381 feet, and that was the ballgame: 7-5, final.
The pitching picture looks complicated for both sides. Sean Newcomb opened for Chicago and was sharp — 2.1 innings, no hits, no runs — but Sean Burke inherited the game and gave up four earned runs over 4.1 innings, which is the kind of outing that keeps a bullpen on edge. For Detroit, Tanner Rainey was clean in his inning of work, walking two but allowing nothing. Still, the damage was already done. Three Chicago home runs, a patient lineup that kept grinding, and Murakami's decisive swing in the seventh are what define this one. The White Sox came into Detroit trailing by three and left with a two-run win. That's a complete reversal, and it appears this offense has enough pop to manufacture comebacks even when the starting pitching wobbles.