The Japanese duo of Munetaka Murakami and Rikuu Nishida eventually had White Sox fans roaring at Rate Field for a second straight game Tuesday night.
It wasn’t quite good enough for a win this time. The Twins prevailed 5-3 in 11 innings, closing to half a game behind the second-place Sox in the American League Central.
With Nishida on base via a single in the eighth, Murakami tied the game 2-2 with his AL-leading 19th homer of the season, a two-run shot off a low sweeper that soared 380 feet into the right-field stands as the Sox finally broke through against Twins starter Joe Ryan.
Although he’s still learning to play right field, Nishida threw out his second runner at the plate in two days. This time he cleanly gunned down Kody Clemens, the Twins’ automatic runner in the 10th, off pinch-hitter Orlando Arcia’s single for the third out. It kept the game tied at 2.
Nishida (1-for-4) struck out in the bottom of the 10th, fouling off a bunt for a third strike. Then Murakami grounded into a funky double play with the potential winning run — pinch automatic runner Luisangel Acuna — at third with one out. Twins first baseman Josh Bell made the twin killing unassisted when he caught Sam Antonacci off the bag.
“It’s obviously disappointing that we got a tough loss today,” Murakami said through a translator. “I just came up in the last at-bat, and I had my chances, I just couldn’t convert [Acuna from third]. I could have hit that fly out and, you know, scored a run.”
The Twins’ Brooks Lee launched a double off Tyler Davis with the bases loaded in the 11th. The ball sailed over Nishida to the wall, scoring all three runners. The Sox plated a meaningless run in the bottom of the inning as the Twins won for the fifth time in six games.
The ending deflated a jaunty mood on the South Side, with some fans chanting “MVP” during Murakami’s final at-bat. It also spoiled a resurgent start by right-hander Sean Burke, who allowed just two runs and three hits in seven innings. He struck out eight, walked two and retired the last 11 Twins he faced, depite feeling ill the last couple of days.
“I honestly felt like my legs were under me, and I felt a lot better as the game went on,” Burke said. “Tonight it felt like me and [catcher Drew] Romo were on a good page. We had a good game plan coming in.”
The Sox fell back to .500 at 27-27.