White Sox 8, Angels 7: Murakami Powers Seven-Run Rally

The lead

April 27, 2026 - Chicago - The Chicago White Sox waited through a three-hour rain delay, fell behind by four, then detonated in the seventh inning to beat the Los Angeles Angels 8-7 at Rate Field.

The game belonged to Munetaka Murakami because the biggest swing belonged to him. Chicago trailed 5-1 before sending 10 men to the plate in the seventh. Andrew Benintendi cut the deficit to one with a two-run double, and Murakami greeted Drew Pomeranz with a three-run homer to right-center. Miguel Vargas followed with another homer, turning a four-run Angels lead into an 8-5 White Sox edge.

The Angels still made Chicago sweat in the ninth, but Bryan Hudson stranded the tying and go-ahead runs to lock down his first career save. For the White Sox, it was a comeback win that fit their recent form. ESPN noted Chicago improved to 6-4 over its last 10 games.

How the game turned

For most of the night, this looked like another Angels rebound chance. Jorge Soler homered, Mike Trout had two hits and scored twice, and Los Angeles built a 5-1 lead. It was the kind of early cushion that should have been enough, especially after the Angels had just endured a brutal blown lead in Kansas City the day before.

Instead, the seventh inning flipped everything. Chicago did not chip away with one run and hope for the best. The White Sox produced their biggest inning of the season, scoring seven times and forcing the Angels through multiple relievers.

Benintendi's double off Nick Sandlin was the first major blow. It brought Chicago within one and put the tying run in immediate scoring position. The Angels went to Pomeranz for the left-on-left matchup against Murakami, but Murakami punished the move with his major league-best 12th home run.

Vargas then went deep behind him, stretching the lead to 8-5 and giving Chicago just enough room for the ninth-inning storm.

Pitching and matchup notes

This was not a clean starter-driven game. The long weather delay shaped the night before the first pitch, and both teams eventually had to rely on bullpens to carry the tension. Osvaldo Bido ended up with the win after throwing three innings of one-run ball for Chicago.

The Angels' bullpen absorbed the loss because the seventh inning got away from them. Sandlin was charged with the key traffic and Benintendi's double. Pomeranz entered with a chance to stop the inning and instead gave up back-to-back homers to Murakami and Vargas.

Chicago's late relief was not perfect either. Grant Taylor allowed Los Angeles to tighten the game in the ninth, with Soler and Nolan Schanuel each driving in a run. But Hudson finished it by getting Adam Frazier on a bouncer to second, stranding runners at second and third.

Bats that changed the board

Murakami's homer was the defining moment, but the White Sox needed more than one swing. Benintendi finished with three RBI, Vargas added the solo homer, and Tristan Peters had two hits and scored two runs. That mix gave Chicago enough pressure to make the seventh inning feel less like a random rally and more like a wave.

For the Angels, Trout's two-hit night and Soler's homer should have stood up better. Los Angeles finished with 14 hits, but the ninth-inning push came after the lead had already disappeared. ESPN noted the Angels have now lost four straight and eight of nine overall.

AthX Engine fantasy angle

The White Sox finished fourth on the AthX Engine team board for April 27 with 12 team fantasy points, and Murakami was one of the top hitter scores of the slate with 9 AthX Engine hitting FP. That makes sense: he delivered the swing that turned a deficit into a lead, and the White Sox added enough run volume to make the comeback matter for team scoring.

The Angels still produced offensive fantasy value in a loss. Trout, Soler, and Schanuel all had moments, and Los Angeles' seven runs kept the game in the daily scoring picture. But AthX Engine rewards complete game outcomes too, and Chicago's seventh inning carried more weight than the Angels' early lead.

What comes next

The Angels hand the ball to Jose Soriano, who entered the next matchup with a tiny ERA, while Chicago counters with Davis Martin. For the White Sox, the question is whether Murakami's hot stretch can keep dragging the lineup upward. For the Angels, the issue is simpler and harsher: they have had leads, but they are not closing games.

For traders, this game is a warning about box-score context. Los Angeles had plenty of hits. Chicago had the inning that mattered.

*Sources: MLB.com schedule, MLB Gameday, ESPN recap, AP/CBS Sports game coverage, and AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*