Munetaka Murakami lived up to the build up.
The White Sox rookie Japanese slugger hit two home runs to end a 13-game overall longball drought and finished with a career-high six RBI on his first bobblehead day at Rate Field on Sunday.
No bobblehead for him, but fellow All-Star Miguel Vargas, broke out of a homer drought too with a tie-breaking two-run drive in the sixth. The Sox then pulled away late and pounded the Houston Astros 12-3 to end a two-game slide and avert a sweep before 32,581 on a steamy afternoon.
Chase Meidroth smacked a solo shot in the seventh, and Junior Perez went deep in the eighth as the Sox hit five homers after not stroking any in their previous five games. The South Siders improved to 55-49 and opened a 2 ½ game over Cleveland in the American League Central as they head into a four-game series with the New York Yankees.
Murakami hadn’t gone deep since a 15-2 Chicago win over Minnesota on May 27 when he launched his 20th and was tied for the major-league lead. He suffered a right hamstring strain running out a grounder two days later and missed the next six weeks.
After Murakami’s father and mother each threw a ceremonial first pitch Sunday, their 26-year-old son lofted his 21st homer, an opposite-field two-run shot to left in the first. He added a solo drive in the eighth, following a two-run single in the seventh and a pair of productive ground outs.
It was Murakami’s second two-homer game, following one on May 16 against the Cubs.
“Every one of his at-bats today were huge, and you know, that’s what it takes,” manager Will Venable said.
In his first 11 games since returning from the hamstring injury, Murakami batted just .184 with one RBI. He had four doubles, 10 walks and scored seven runs, but struck out 17 times in 48 plate appearances.
“I’m just really happy,” Murakami said through interpreter Kenzo Yagi. “It’s been long since I’ve been back and to have a day like this, it means a lot.”
The White Sox rebounded after dropping the first two games of the series and averted being swept at home for a fourth time this season.
“It was disappointing the past two games, so I was really happy I was able to contribute,” Murakami said.
Murakami liked the bobblehead that commemorates his first home run in the season opener in March and revealed he had a bobblehead once before in Japan.
He was also confident that a breakout was coming, and it turned out the timing couldn’t have been scripted better.
“It was going to come sooner or later,” Murakami said. “I was really happy. I mean a lot of people welcomed me and it was just a great feeling to get out there and have a good result.”
‘I wasn’t hitting home runs, but (my plate) approach itself was good, so it was all about just being patient at the box and I think the results came up.”
After Jeremy Pena his his first of two solo shots of Erick Fedde to lead off Sunday’s game, Murakami sent a high drive to left to put the Sox ahead 2-1.
Vargas hadn’t gone deep since July 10 in a 14-1 rout of the Athletics, a drought of 10 games when he had only two RBIs. He barreled up a line-shot, no doubter in the sixth innings Sunday that cleared the left-field bullpen, snapped a 3-all tie and put the Sox ahead 5-3, and for good.
But the story was Murakami
“It’s just Mune being Mune,” Vargas said. “We all know that when he came back here, he was going to be able to help the team.”
Fedde was tagged for three solo shots, and allowed three runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Five relievers finished, allowing no runs on two hits and three walks. The second, Sean Newcomb (1-2) got the win be getting two outs and working out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth.