CHICAGO (AP) — Munetaka Murakami homered twice and drove in three runs, helping the Chicago White Sox beat the Chicago Cubs 8-3 on Saturday night.

Miguel Vargas, Colson Montgomery and Andrew Benintendi also connected as the White Sox improved to 6-2 on a nine-game homestand. Davis Martin (6-1) struck out seven while pitching six innings of one-run ball.

Murakami's solo drive to center made it 4-0 in the third inning. The Japanese slugger added his 17th homer in the fifth, a two-run shot to center off Jameson Taillon that traveled an estimated 428 feet.

It was Murakami's first career multihomer game. The rookie batted .158 (3 for 19) with no homers, seven strikeouts and six walks in his previous six games.

Pete Crow-Armstrong and Miguel Amaya homered for the NL Central-leading Cubs, who beat the White Sox 10-5 in the series opener on Friday night. Taillon (2-3) surrendered a career-high five homers in five-plus innings.

The game was played with three umpires after Brian O’Nora departed in the fourth inning. O’Nora had concussion-like symptoms after he was struck by a foul ball while working the plate.

The White Sox jumped in front in the first. Sam Antonacci hit a leadoff single and Murakami walked before Vargas went deep for his 11th homer.

Montgomery hit a two-out solo drive in the third for his 13th homer.

Vargas and Montgomery also went deep on Friday night.

Amaya opened the sixth with his third homer. The Cubs put runners on second and third with one out, but Martin escaped the jam by striking out Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki.

Crow-Armstrong made it 8-3 when he hit a two-run drive off Trevor Richards in the ninth. But Amaya flied out to right and Nico Hoerner bounced to second, ending the game.

Up next

Colin Rea (4-2, 4.68 ERA) starts for the Cubs on Sunday, and fellow right-hander Erick Fedde (0-4, 3.77) pitches for the White Sox in the finale of the weekend series.

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CHICAGO (AP) — Jarred Kelenic had two hits and two RBIs, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 6-5 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight win.

Colson Montgomery homered during a three-hit performance, helping Chicago improve to 15-8 in its last 23 games. Tyler Davis (1-1) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings for his first major league win.

At 21-21, the White Sox reached .500 for the first time since they were 2-2 on March 31, 2025.

Kansas City finished with five hits in its fifth loss in seven games. Seth Lugo (1-3) permitted five runs and eight hits in five innings.

The Royals trailed 6-3 before Bobby Witt Jr. hit a two-run homer off Seranthony Domínguez with two out in the ninth. But Domínguez struck out pinch-hitter Jac Caglianone for his 10th save in 12 chances.

The White Sox had a 3-0 lead before the Royals rallied in the fourth. Noah Schultz walked the bases loaded, and Nick Loftin hit a sacrifice fly. Vinnie Pasquantino followed with a shallow flyball that went off the glove of a diving Sam Antonacci in left-center for a two-run single.

The White Sox responded with two runs in the fifth. With two out and runners on first and second, Kelenic hit a drive to right for a two-run double.

Montgomery made it 6-3 when he led off the seventh with his 11th homer, a 399-foot drive to right on John Schreiber's first pitch of the game.

Kansas City put runners on the corners with none out in the seventh, but Jordan Hicks escaped the jam by striking out Maikel Garcia, Witt and Lane Thomas.

Up next

Kris Bubic (3-1, 3.50 ERA) starts for Kansas City on Thursday, and fellow left-hander Anthony Kay (2-1, 4.89) pitches for Chicago in the finale of the three-game series.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb