Deadspin | White Sox, red-hot Munetaka Murakami present challenge for Diamondbacks 
Apr 19, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami (5) jogs around the bases after hitting a two run home run during the fifth inning against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Scott Marshall-Imagn Images As Arizona right-hander Merrill Kelly settles into the place he feels most at home, Chicago White Sox newcomer Munetaka Murakami is finding an immediate fit in his South Side neighborhood.
The two will meet when Kelly (1-0, 3.38 ERA) faces right-hander Sean Burke (0-2, 4.43) in the first game of a three-game series Tuesday in Phoenix.
Murakami has made quite a splash since signing a two-year, $34 million free-agent contract in the offseason following eight years with the Yakult Swallows of the Japan Central League.
The rookie first baseman hit three homers a three-game set against the Athletics, including one of Chicago’s four dingers in a 7-4 victory Sunday to give the team just its second series win of the season.
Murakami has eight homers, more than any Japanese-born player through his first 22 games, making his deal look like a bargain thus far.
“Guy’s got stupid juice,” White Sox right-hander Davis Martin told reporters.
Martin was speaking after Murakami’s clinching grand slam in a 9-2 win Friday, a ball that cleared the batter’s eye at Sutter Health Park and was estimated at 431 feet.
“I got more than 431,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “I don’t know who is doing that calculation, but that ball was touched right there.”
Murakami’s homer Sunday was estimated at 425 feet.
“I just love having all the points come up from all the lineup and everybody contributing to the team,” Murakami said.
Kelly will make his first home start of the season after snubbing a more lucrative offer from San Diego in his first taste of free agency over the winter. He received a prolonged ovation when he was introduced before the D-Bbacks’ home opener March 30, although he was on the injured list and could not play.
“I’ve been here my whole big-league career, and that means something to me,” said Kelly, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract in the offseason. The Padres offered three years for $60 million.
“I’m grateful to the organization for having that much faith in me. Not only the guys in the clubhouse that I enjoy being around, but also the team on the field. I felt like it was a very competitive team.”
The Diamondbacks have won 10 of 14 and have not lost a series since being swept at the Los Angeles Dodgers to open the season.
The White Sox had lost 8 of 10 before taking two of three against the A’s.
Kelly missed the first three weeks of the season with an intercostal nerve irritation before returning in a 4-3 victory at Baltimore last Tuesday. He gave up two runs and five hits, with three strikeouts and four walks.
His takeaway?
“That we won. That’s the first and foremost goal,” said Kelly, who pitched five scoreless innings in his one rehab start for Triple-A Reno. “It’s always nice to come back and get that first one out of the way.
“The health stuff, I think, is in the rear-view mirror. But there were definitely some butterflies. I think my brain knows I’m going into a big-league game with something that matters. The speed is definitely different for sure.”
Kelly is 2-1 in three career starts against the White Sox, the last a 9-3 victory in West Sacramento last season after he had been sent to Texas prior to the trade deadline.
Burke beat the D-Backs 7-3 last season, his only appearance against them. He did not allow an earned run in five innings.
–Field Level Media
#Deadspin #White #Sox #redhot #Munetaka #Murakami #present #challenge #Diamondbacks
Apr 19, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami (5) jogs around the bases after hitting a two run home run during the fifth inning against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Scott Marshall-Imagn Images As Arizona right-hander Merrill Kelly settles into the place he feels most at home, Chicago White Sox newcomer Munetaka Murakami is finding an immediate fit in his South Side neighborhood.
The two will meet when Kelly (1-0, 3.38 ERA) faces right-hander Sean Burke (0-2, 4.43) in the first game of a three-game series Tuesday in Phoenix.
Murakami has made quite a splash since signing a two-year, $34 million free-agent contract in the offseason following eight years with the Yakult Swallows of the Japan Central League.
The rookie first baseman hit three homers a three-game set against the Athletics, including one of Chicago’s four dingers in a 7-4 victory Sunday to give the team just its second series win of the season.
Murakami has eight homers, more than any Japanese-born player through his first 22 games, making his deal look like a bargain thus far.
“Guy’s got stupid juice,” White Sox right-hander Davis Martin told reporters.
Martin was speaking after Murakami’s clinching grand slam in a 9-2 win Friday, a ball that cleared the batter’s eye at Sutter Health Park and was estimated at 431 feet.
“I got more than 431,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “I don’t know who is doing that calculation, but that ball was touched right there.”
Murakami’s homer Sunday was estimated at 425 feet.
“I just love having all the points come up from all the lineup and everybody contributing to the team,” Murakami said.
Kelly will make his first home start of the season after snubbing a more lucrative offer from San Diego in his first taste of free agency over the winter. He received a prolonged ovation when he was introduced before the D-Bbacks’ home opener March 30, although he was on the injured list and could not play.
“I’ve been here my whole big-league career, and that means something to me,” said Kelly, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract in the offseason. The Padres offered three years for $60 million.
“I’m grateful to the organization for having that much faith in me. Not only the guys in the clubhouse that I enjoy being around, but also the team on the field. I felt like it was a very competitive team.”
The Diamondbacks have won 10 of 14 and have not lost a series since being swept at the Los Angeles Dodgers to open the season.
The White Sox had lost 8 of 10 before taking two of three against the A’s.
Kelly missed the first three weeks of the season with an intercostal nerve irritation before returning in a 4-3 victory at Baltimore last Tuesday. He gave up two runs and five hits, with three strikeouts and four walks.
His takeaway?
“That we won. That’s the first and foremost goal,” said Kelly, who pitched five scoreless innings in his one rehab start for Triple-A Reno. “It’s always nice to come back and get that first one out of the way.
“The health stuff, I think, is in the rear-view mirror. But there were definitely some butterflies. I think my brain knows I’m going into a big-league game with something that matters. The speed is definitely different for sure.”
Kelly is 2-1 in three career starts against the White Sox, the last a 9-3 victory in West Sacramento last season after he had been sent to Texas prior to the trade deadline.
Burke beat the D-Backs 7-3 last season, his only appearance against them. He did not allow an earned run in five innings.
–Field Level Media
![Knicks and Nuggets Blow Big Leads: What Went Wrong in Game 2? | Deadspin.com Roughly 5,000 feet of elevation separate Denver and New York City.Still, gravity works the same regardless of where one stands. Just ask the NBA teams in both towns.“You get too high, and you get, I don’t want to say cocky, but feeling yourself,” Nuggets guard Tim Hardaway Jr. said.That sensation went south on either side of the country Monday night.After squandering sizable leads that would have cemented commanding 2-0 advantages in their respective first-round playoff series, the Nuggets and Knicks now find themselves bracing for a fight.Should their opponents ultimately have their number, Denver and New York will look back with disdain on 19 and 14. Those were the Game 2 cushions the teams coughed up as the No. 3 seeds in the Eastern and Western Conference.“It’s a game we should’ve won,” Knicks guard Josh Hart said. “In the playoffs, we can’t give away games.”Be that as it may, the Knicks did just that against the Atlanta Hawks. They controlled the outcome for much of the night and took a 12-point edge into the fourth quarter after leading by as many as 14.Then New York shot 5-for-22 from the floor in the final 12 minutes compared to 10-for-15 for Atlanta. Fighting through vulgar chants from the Madison Square Garden faithful, Hawks star CJ McCullom scored six straight points down the stretch during one key sequence on the way to a game-high 32.“In that fourth quarter, you could tell [the Hawks] were playing with a level of desperation,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “There were four 50-50 balls, and they got three of the four. We always use that stat to gauge the level of aggression in a game. In that fourth quarter, their aggression stepped up.”New York’s melted at the same time. How many late possessions saw the Knicks pass or hold the ball around the perimeter before settling for subpar looks from 3-point range? The Knicks went 3-for-11 from deep as part of their flop.Denver led the Minnesota Timberwolves by 19 points early in the second quarter before crumbling. The Nuggets still were ahead by three points to start the fourth quarter but a combined 2-for-12 shooting effort from pillars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in the final 12 minutes took a toll.“I feel like we had the game in hand, and then we just didn’t make our shots,” Murray said.As with the Knicks and Hawks, the reversal of fortunes stemmed both from the hosts’ miscues and an outstanding effort from a visiting player, as Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards had 30 points.“Great leadership, positive,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “He recognized he needed to get into attack mode and get downhill a little bit more. He did that.”The Knicks and Nuggets no doubt sensed the need to amp up their own urgency as things started slipping away Monday.That neither could act upon it didn’t signal the end for either New York or Denver, of course. But now there’s unnecessary added weight for the climb back to the top. #Knicks #Nuggets #Blow #Big #Leads #Wrong #Game #Deadspin.com](https://i1.wp.com/lineup-publishing.s3.amazonaws.com/1776807037837?ssl=1 "Knicks and Nuggets Blow Big Leads: What Went Wrong in Game 2? | Deadspin.com Roughly 5,000 feet of elevation separate Denver and New York City.Still, gravity works the same regardless of where one stands. Just ask the NBA teams in both towns.“You get too high, and you get, I don’t want to say cocky, but feeling yourself,” Nuggets guard Tim Hardaway Jr. said.That sensation went south on either side of the country Monday night.After squandering sizable leads that would have cemented commanding 2-0 advantages in their respective first-round playoff series, the Nuggets and Knicks now find themselves bracing for a fight.Should their opponents ultimately have their number, Denver and New York will look back with disdain on 19 and 14. Those were the Game 2 cushions the teams coughed up as the No. 3 seeds in the Eastern and Western Conference.“It’s a game we should’ve won,” Knicks guard Josh Hart said. “In the playoffs, we can’t give away games.”Be that as it may, the Knicks did just that against the Atlanta Hawks. They controlled the outcome for much of the night and took a 12-point edge into the fourth quarter after leading by as many as 14.Then New York shot 5-for-22 from the floor in the final 12 minutes compared to 10-for-15 for Atlanta. Fighting through vulgar chants from the Madison Square Garden faithful, Hawks star CJ McCullom scored six straight points down the stretch during one key sequence on the way to a game-high 32.“In that fourth quarter, you could tell [the Hawks] were playing with a level of desperation,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “There were four 50-50 balls, and they got three of the four. We always use that stat to gauge the level of aggression in a game. In that fourth quarter, their aggression stepped up.”New York’s melted at the same time. How many late possessions saw the Knicks pass or hold the ball around the perimeter before settling for subpar looks from 3-point range? The Knicks went 3-for-11 from deep as part of their flop.Denver led the Minnesota Timberwolves by 19 points early in the second quarter before crumbling. The Nuggets still were ahead by three points to start the fourth quarter but a combined 2-for-12 shooting effort from pillars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in the final 12 minutes took a toll.“I feel like we had the game in hand, and then we just didn’t make our shots,” Murray said.As with the Knicks and Hawks, the reversal of fortunes stemmed both from the hosts’ miscues and an outstanding effort from a visiting player, as Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards had 30 points.“Great leadership, positive,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “He recognized he needed to get into attack mode and get downhill a little bit more. He did that.”The Knicks and Nuggets no doubt sensed the need to amp up their own urgency as things started slipping away Monday.That neither could act upon it didn’t signal the end for either New York or Denver, of course. But now there’s unnecessary added weight for the climb back to the top. #Knicks #Nuggets #Blow #Big #Leads #Wrong #Game #Deadspin.com")
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