Munetaka Murakami fights through butterflies — and traffic — in productive spring debut for White Sox
· Yahoo Sports
MESA, Ariz. — Bad traffic nearly delayed Munetaka Murakami’s spring debut with the Chicago White Sox.
“Oh, my God, crash,” Murakami said in English of an incident leading to the tie-ups on the Phoenix-area roads.
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He continued through an interpreter: “I was so concerned if I could make it on time. There was a big accident on the highway and I was just concerned the whole time. I was actually in the car until 12:50 (for a 1:05 p.m. start).”
The first baseman arrived just in time to remain in the starting lineup.
Murakami said he wasn’t fully able to prepare for the game. But he still looked sharp, going 2 for 4 with two RBIs in an 8-1 victory against the Chicago Cubs in the Cactus League opener for both teams Friday at Sloan Park.
“I’m really happy how it went without any injuries,” Murakami said. “I had butterflies inside me the first few minutes of it. But after I started fielding and I got an at-bat, I felt a bit more comfortable and felt myself.”
In his first at-bat, Murakami grounded out to second baseman Pedro Ramírez for the final out of the first inning.
Murakami collected his first Cactus League hit his next time up with a sharp single up the middle in the third inning against Connor Schultz.
Murakami batted with the bases loaded in the fourth inning against Porter Hodge and hit a fly to deep center that Seiya Suzuki had trouble locating. The ball landed on the warning track for a two-run double, extending the Sox lead to 6-1.
“It was a great at-bat,” Murakami said. “I was able to get good angles on the bat and velocity. I’m really happy how it went and how it went over my friend as well.”
He struck out looking in his final at-bat in the sixth. Murakami had two of the team’s 12 hits.
“Mune especially was stuck back there (in the traffic) and did a great job, and for his first spring game to have that happen but be able to collect himself and come out here and have a good game, that was awesome,” manager Will Venable said.
Venable was excited by the team’s overall offensive production.
The Sox homered twice against Cubs starter Jameson Taillon. Left fielder Austin Hays, who signed a one-year deal in the offseason, hit a solo home run in the first inning. Second baseman Sam Antonacci, a prospect who will be playing for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic, connected for a two-run homer in the second.
“Just put the ball in play, try to find a way to get on base for the people behind me,” Antonacci said of his approach.
Starter Jonathan Cannon appreciated the run support, no matter the time of the year. He allowed one run on two hits and struck out three in 1 2/3 innings.
“Wanted to work on the two fastballs, sinker and four-seam,” Cannon said. “That’s kind of been a point of emphasis this spring. And then just kind of dialing back in the offspeed command, I thought that could be better, that was just kind of the point of improvement going forward, could definitely be more in the zone a little bit more.
“But overall, I thought it was good, a lot to build off of, long spring ahead.”
Murakami aided him defensively in the second inning when he knocked down B.J. Murray’s hard-hit grounder, recovered the ball and flipped it to Cannon, who was covering first.
After the adventures on the road, Murakami was glad to produce on the field.
“I’m very relieved right now that I got one game past me,” Murakami said of the overall experience. “I was glad to get the two hits.”
Murakami would like to play in five games before joining Team Japan for the World Baseball Classic. He is scheduled to leave Feb. 27.
“You’ve got to give Mune a lot of credit,” Venable said. “This guy is so committed and such a professional. We’ve asked him to do some things that he hasn’t necessarily been accustomed to and how he prepares and his adaptability and flexibility to do those things has been awesome.
“That adjustability gives you confidence that he’s going to be able to go out there and make adjustments throughout the year. He’s just a guy that even though he wants to play nine innings every one of these games, we’ve got a plan for him and he’s behind and supportive of what we’ve laid out for him and he did a great job today.”
Injury update
The Sox scratched right fielder Everson Pereira from Friday’s starting lineup with tightness on his right side.
“Just a little soreness,” Venable said. “Just really precautionary. Wanted to make sure we didn’t put him in a tough spot. But he’ll be day to day and we’ll see where he’s at.”