Did the White Sox Get the Old Munetaka Murakami Back in Win Over Tigers?

The Munetaka Murakami who helped the White Sox build a division lead returned Thursday night at Rate Field.

Sep 17, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami (5) celebrates with teammates in the dugout after his three run home run during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It took an injury to Colson Montgomery for Munetaka Murakami to even get in the game during Wednesday's 6-3 loss to the Cleveland Guardians that knocked the White Sox out of first place in the AL Central. That would have been unfathomable during the first four months of the season, but it was reflective of how far Murakami had fallen.

For one night, though, that Murakami disappeared.

Munetaka Murakami Snaps Slump in Win Over Tigers

Sep 17, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami (5) gestures after hitting a three run home run during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

A three-run homer in the first inning of Thursday's game gave the White Sox all the offense they needed in a 3-1 win over the Detroit Tigers. They are now back in a first-place tie with the Guardians. And since they hold the tiebreaker advantage thanks to the regular-season series, they are the de facto division leaders once again.

Since the beginning of August, Murakami was slashing .130/.280/.299. Among qualified hitters, that was the worst batting average for any Sox hitter during that span, and his on-base and slugging percentages ranked behind only Braden Montgomery. His -0.4 fWAR over that time was also the worst among that group.

Murakami's slash line in August was an ugly .147/.304/.343. Yet, he had somehow been even worse in September, seeing those numbers plummet to .096/.230./.212 with only two home runs and six RBIs. After the win over Detroit, in which he also had his first career triple, those numbers have increased slightly to .125/.246/.321.

Despite this slump, Murakami has continued to bat high in the batter order, if for no other reason than his 31 home runs making him a power threat just waiting to break out again. His 32nd homer against the Tigers finally rewarded Will Venable's faith that he could get back on track before the postseason.

Munetaka Murakami crushes his 32nd home run 💪 pic.twitter.com/1TWLe2UwQH

— MLB (@MLB) September 17, 2026

With that said, Murakami was slotted fifth in the batting order ahead of the first of four games of this series. That's the lowest spot Murakami had gotten in a start since batting sixth in the first game of the season. Perhaps less pressure in a lower spot was what he needed.

Before this prolonged slump, Murakami seemed like a shoo-in to become the first Sox player to finally get a $100+ million contract. Sox fans were even clamoring for it to get down immediately. That talk has become as cool as his bat, but it's possible that will start up again if he can build upon this game.

Sox fans want to fall back in love with Murakami, The All-Star. What they don't want is to start understanding why the other 29 general managers were concerned about Murakami and thus decided to pass on him. The next couple of weeks may show us which side was right.