Murakami set for White Sox return Friday after being sidelined for over a month
Who wins the White Sox Alumni HR Derby? | Toyota Talks
Sam Panayotovich is joined by the REKAP's Ryan McGuffey and BeefLoaf and Chorizy-E from The 108 podcast for a chat about Saturday's White Sox alumni home run derby. The guys give their predictions for the six-player event and discuss their all-time dream candidates.
Munetaka Murakami is expected to return to the slumping Chicago White Sox on Friday night after being sidelined by a strained right hamstring.
What we know:
Murakami made two rehab appearances with Triple-A Charlotte, going 2 for 7 with a double. Following Chicago's 2-1 loss to Boston on Thursday, White Sox manager Will Venable said Murakami would be in the starting lineup for the opener of the team's weekend series against the Athletics.
"He’s ready to go," Venable said. "He was challenged running the bases, defensively, had a really long game yesterday. So feel good about the workload, recovered well today so he’s ready to go."
Murakami got hurt during a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on May 29, grabbing his right hamstring after beating a throw to first on a fielder’s choice in the third inning. At the time of the injury, the Japanese rookie ranked among the major league leaders with 20 homers, 41 RBIs, 43 runs and a .947 OPS.
Chicago (47-45) is in a virtual tie with Cleveland (48-46) for the lead in the sluggish AL Central. But the White Sox have dropped three in a row and six of eight overall. They managed just two runs and 15 hits in the three-game set against the Red Sox.
White Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi said getting Murakami back right now is huge.
"Obviously, he’s a presence in the lineup," he said. "He’ll bring the energy, I think. It seems like the vibe in here is kind of down right now but I’m sure seeing him tomorrow will spark it back up."
The backstory:
The 26-year-old Murakami signed a $34 million, two-year contract with Chicago in December. The White Sox went 17-18 while he was on the injured list.
"We understand the impact he makes on the field and in the clubhouse so to activate him is going to mean a lot for our group," Venable said. "Really excited about him."