White Sox 8, Cubs 3: Munetaka Murakami Goes Deep Twice in Crosstown Revenge

The lead

May 16, 2026 - Chicago - The Chicago White Sox answered Friday's Crosstown loss with homers from Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas, Colson Montgomery, and Andrew Benintendi, riding Davis Martin's six strong innings to an 8-3 win over the Chicago Cubs in front of another packed house at Rate Field, per the Associated Press recap on CBS Sports.

Murakami's first career multi-homer game featured a solo shot in the third and a 428-foot two-run blast to center off Jameson Taillon in the fifth, CBS noted—pushing the Japanese slugger to 17 homers after a quiet week.

How the game turned

Chicago's AL club jumped ahead 3-0 in the first when Sam Antonacci singled, Murakami walked, and Vargas launched his 11th homer. Montgomery's two-out solo drive in the third and Murakami's second blast in the fifth kept the Cubs chasing a game Taillon could not stabilize: AP had five homers allowed over five-plus innings—a career worst—to an order that had also homered twice off him Friday.

Pitching and matchup notes

Martin (6-1) punched out seven, allowed one earned run across six frames, and stranded Cubs traffic in the sixth by fanning Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki with two aboard, CBS documented. The White Sox bullpen closed without drama after Pete Crow-Armstrong's two-run ninth-inning homer off Trevor Richards trimmed the margin.

Bats that changed the board

AthX Engine slotted Murakami at 14 hitting FP—tied for third on Saturday's slate with Casey Schmitt—and graded the White Sox fourth among clubs at 16 team FP despite a modest eight hits in the box score AP printed.

AthX Engine fantasy angle

Multi-homer nights from rookies who also walk create fantasy separation in AthX Engine even when the barrels cluster in one inning. AthX investing vocab still tracks through dynamic pricing, not single-game fantasy ceilings.

What comes next

Sunday's finale paired Colin Rea and Erick Fedde, per AP—a rubber match after each side had celebrated long balls and narrative swings across 48 hours on the South Side.

*Sources: MLB.com schedule, MLB gameday wrap, CBS Sports recap, Associated Press via CBS, AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*