City Series: White Sox flex their muscle with 5 home runs -- 2 by Munetaka Murakami -- to pummel Cubs 8-3

CHICAGO — Chicago White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami hadn’t hit a home run since May 8.

The first baseman got back in the swing of things on the City Series stage Saturday, connecting for two long balls as the White Sox pummeled the Cubs 8-3 in front of a sellout crowd of 38,795 at Rate Field.

The Sox hammered five home runs while squaring the City Series at one game apiece.

Third baseman Miguel Vargas had a three-run home run in the first inning, while Murakami and shortstop Colson Montgomery each hit solo shots in the third. Murakami added a two-run blast in the fifth for the first multi-home-run game of his career. Andrew Benintendi added a solo home run in the sixth.

“It’s just not one person,” Murakami said through an interpreter. “It’s the full lineup, one through nine. Feeding off each other. It’s a great confidence builder, seeing other players get good results.

“I just want to be that contributor and contribute to the lineup and contribute to the team’s wins.”

Murakami now sits atop the American League with 17 home runs and is second in the majors to Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber, who has 20.

“He’s a superstar,” Sox starter Davis Martin said of Murakami. “There’s no other way to do it. You play against guys like (Mike) Trout, you play against guys like (Aaron) Judge and Yordan Álvarez, and he’s doing the same things that they are. It’s an incredible thing to watch.”

The Sox entered the day as the only team in the majors to have three players with at least 10 home runs in Murakami, Montgomery and Vargas. And the trio came up big Saturday, helping the Sox return to one game over .500 at 23-22.

“Really special to see those guys do that,” Sox manager Will Venable said. “The guys in the middle have been doing it really seems like every day. (Benintendi) looked great, too, so there was a lot of great stuff up and down the lineup.”

Cubs starter Jameson Taillon surrendered all five long balls. He allowed eight runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and one walk in five-plus innings, exiting after Benintendi’s home run leading off the sixth.

“Just didn’t execute against them, got in some weird counts and stuff,” Taillon said. “To be completely honest, I don’t think some of those pitches were that bad. It’s a sign that they had a good game plan and it’s on me now to punch back and adjust.”

Martin, meanwhile, continued his marvelous 2026. The right-hander allowed one run, a homer in the sixth to catcher Miguel Amaya, on five hits with seven strikeouts and no walks in six innings. Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a two-run shot in the ninth against reliever Trevor Richards.

All 11 runs in the game were scored on home runs.

Martin received offensive support early. Left fielder Sam Antonacci reached on a single, skipping a grounder past second baseman Matt Shaw. Murakami walked and then Vargas lined a 1-1 sinker over the left-center wall for his 11th home run of the season and second of the series.

“He walked Mune, I was just trying to see a good pitch where I can drive a run,” Vargas said. “I got lucky and I put a good swing on it.”

Murakami broke out of his homerless stretch in the third, lofting a long, high fly that was just out of the reach of a leaping Crow-Armstrong in center field for his 16th home run of the year.

“Obviously he sets a real high expectation, continues to have good at-bats, make good swing decisions and gets really good swings off and when he does, they usually go over the fence,” Venable said.

Later in the inning, Montgomery jumped on a 2-0 cutter and kept the ball fair down the right-field line. The home run, Montgomery’s 13th, stood after a video review.

“They are really good teammates and the centerpiece of the team, as well as everybody,” Murakami said of Vargas and Montgomery. “I’m really happy we are on the same squad. We want to keep continuing a day like this.”

There was a pause in the action in the fourth inning when plate umpire Brian O’Nora exited with concussion-like symptoms after getting hit by a foul ball. During the break, Sox and Cubs fans chanted “Green Bay sucks,” which was followed by the Bears fight song playing in the ballpark.

The home runs continued following the delay. Murakami took over the AL lead with his two-run shot in the fifth.

“We know he’s got power and we threw some balls in places he could get them,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.

Benintendi’s home run leading off the sixth made it 8-1. It’s the first time they hit five homers in a game since Sept. 15, 2022, in Cleveland, when they also hit five.

The Cubs (29-17) couldn’t string much together offensively against Martin, who worked out of jams in the fourth and sixth innings while improving to 6-1. He is third in the majors with a 1.61 ERA.

“The nerves and the anxiety before the game after watching the game last night with just the amount of energy there (and) obviously a great team on the side, knew it was going to be a challenge,” Martin said. “It was a lot of fun just going out there and competing.”