CLEVELAND, Ohio - Munetaka Murakami stayed hot Monday, helping the Chicago White Sox move within one victory of the American League Championship Series with a 4-3 win over the Cleveland Guardians.
After powering the White Sox to a Game 1 win with a two-run home run, the Japanese slugger drove in their opening run as they took a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five AL Division Series.
With the White Sox down 2-0, Murakami worked the count full before delivering a groundball single to right field with two on and none out in the top of the fourth inning at Progressive Field.
Murakami also played a part in a decisive three-run sixth, grounding out to second and moving Miguel Vargas, the tying run, into scoring position.
The White Sox remained unfazed despite falling behind for the first time this postseason after Cleveland scored two runs in the first inning, according to Murakami.
"Baseball is a nine-inning game," he said. "There was no need to panic."
He showed patience at the plate for his RBI, falling behind 0-2 before laying off pitches to work the count full and eventually pouncing on an anticipated inside fastball.
"I'm glad it turned out so well," he said. "We came together as a team to turn the game around."
The White Sox now head home to Chicago needing one more win to reach the ALCS for the first time since their 2005 World Series run, but Murakami is not getting ahead of himself.
"At any moment, things could go wrong," he said. "I just want to stay focused on winning."
