White Sox rookie Noah Schultz shines in second start, Murakami homers again in win

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The lowly White Sox were due for a bang-up afternoon, and they got one Sunday against the Athletics.

There was Japanese phenom Munetaka Murakami admiring his towering home run for a third straight game. There were Colson Montgomery and Miguel Vargas tagging their own impressive blasts, plus Chase Meidroth scratching out two hits.

Nevermind a few late bullpen hiccups, because most importantly, there was left-hander Noah Schultz dealing through five strong innings in the second start of his career — and letting his 97-mph sinker answer any lingering questions about his shaky Chicago debut last week.

The Aurora native gave up a solo home run, a walk and nothing else while striking out six over five innings against a powerful Athletics lineup en route to a 7-4 win and a sunshiny day for the rebuild. He threw 82 pitches, identical to his first outing last Tuesday at Rate Field that was spoiled by a three-run first inning including a two-run throwing error from the 6-10 Schultz.

Schultz was charged with an error in West Sacramento, too, after he couldn’t handle Murakami’s toss while covering first on a grounder. But there wasn’t any hint of jitters from the Oswego East product who acknowledged he had to shake them off the first time he took the mound.

"Learned a lot about myself, a lot of things. Calm myself down with nerves, and stuff like that, that hopefully are gone," Schultz said after his teammates gave him the clubhouse beer shower that awaits any player who picks up his first MLB win.

A surefire way to ease any hurler's nerves is to provide seven runs of support, energetically served up by an offense that has found its footing on the West Coast, slugging eight homers while taking two games out of three against the A's.

"It's awesome. It fires everybody up, keeps the whole team in it," said Schultz, whose only blemish was the first big-league homer he's given up, to A’s third baseman Darell Hernaiz. "There were plenty of great reactions in the dugout, me included."

Catcher Edgar Quero knocked a sacrifice fly in the first inning, and the Sox continued feasting on A’s starter Jeffrey Springs in the second with a solo homer from Derek Hill and Vargas’ two-run blast.

The Sox staked Schultz to a 7-1 lead in the fifth inning with Murakami’s latest eye-popping blast, a two-run shot sent sailing at 114 mph off the bat and 425 feet deep past the outfield lawn at Sutter Health Park. It marked his eighth U.S. homer and the second three-game homer streak of his budding career, following his torrid opening weekend with the Sox.

Montgomery followed up with his own 419-foot shot to straightaway center field for his fifth homer of the season and second in as many days.

"I just love having all the points come up from all the lineup and everybody contributing to the team," Murakami said through an interpreter after his weekend moonshots traveled a collective 1,271 feet. "It's wonderful."

After watching a five-run lead evaporate on Saturday, Sox relievers let the Athletics chip away in the seventh inning. The A’s tagged Grant Taylor for two runs in the seventh inning on a double from second baseman Zack Gelof, then plated another on a wild pitch from Jordan Leasure.

Reliever Bryan Hudson escaped the eighth after giving up a double, and closer Seranthony Dominguez worked around a walk and a hit batter for his fourth save, rebounding from a bad one he blew on Thursday. A three-run cushion didn't hurt, as the Sox pumped their MLB-worst .602 OPS entering the series up to .660 (sixth-worst).

"The last five, six games, these guys have been the best version of themselves," manager Will Venable said.