After three straight 100-loss seasons — including a record 121 defeats in 2024 — the Chicago White Sox needed a little excitement.
Munetaka Murakami has certainly provided that.
The 26-year-old infielder from Japan is tied with Aaron Judge for the major league lead with 13 home runs. That accounts for nearly half of Murakami's hits so far this season. He has 14 singles and no doubles or triples.
This type of all-or-nothing production would be quite rare if it continues for an entire season. So far, 48.1% of Murakami's hits have been homers. The single-season record — among players who qualified for the batting title — is 46.8% by Barry Bonds. He did it during his famous 2001 season, when he slugged a record 73 home runs and had 156 hits.
Next in line are two of Mark McGwire's best years. He had 70 homers on 152 hits (46.1%) in 1998, and 65 homers on 145 hits (44.8%) in 1999. Only nine players have homered on at least 40% of their hits, but not all of them needed stratospheric home run totals to do it. Joey Gallo hit 41 home runs on 94 hits (43.6%) in 2017, finishing with a .209 average. That might be a more reasonable comp for Murakami, who is batting .223.
Following Murakami's lead, the White Sox rank 28th in the major leagues in batting average and ninth in home runs. Colson Montgomery is hitting .227 with nine homers. It was an encouraging week for Chicago, which had a chance to reach .500 on Sunday but lost to San Diego — the end of a five-game winning streak.
Murakami signed a two-year, $34 million contract in the offseason to come over from Japan and join the White Sox. Montgomery, meanwhile, is 24 and under team control for a while. On the pitching side, left-hander Noah Schultz has made his debut this season and is 2-1 with a 2.53 ERA.
And the White Sox also have the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft.
Who holds the single-season record for the White Sox in percentage of hits for a home run?
So far there doesn't seem to be a huge correlation between success with the automated ball-strike system and winning. The teams with the most successful ABS challenges are the Twins (52), Rockies (50), Marlins (46), Athletics (45) and Royals (44). Only the A's are above .500 from that group.
On a percentage basis, the teams with the best success rate have been the Diamondbacks (64.3%), Padres (62.3%), Royals (62%), Tigers (60.7%) and Reds (59.6%). San Diego, Detroit and Cincinnati have winning records.
Ranger Suarez struck out 10 in eight one-hit innings for the Boston Red Sox in a 5-0 win over Toronto on Monday night. That was a third straight victory for the struggling Red Sox, but they've dropped four of five since. Suarez left Sunday's start after four innings because of hamstring issues.
The Atlanta Braves scored seven runs in the last three innings to beat Colorado 8-6 on Friday night. The Braves were down 6-1 in the seventh. They scored a run that inning and then four more in the eighth, with Mauricio Dubón's bases-loaded triple the highlight. Michael Harris II's two-run homer in the top of the ninth put Atlanta ahead.
The Rockies' win probability peaked at 97.7% according to Baseball Savant.
After sweeping three straight at Colorado, the Braves have an 8 1/2-game lead in the NL East. Atlanta also has the best run differential in baseball at plus-81.
Adam Dunn hit 41 homers on 110 hits (37.3%) in 2012, finishing with a .204 average. That also was the year he set the American League record by striking out 222 times.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Atlanta Braves pinch hitter Michael Harris II, right, gestures as he circles the bases after hitting a two-run home run off Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Juan Mejia as Braves third base coach Tommy Watkins, left, reacts in the ninth inning of a baseball game Friday, May 1, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Boston Red Sox pitcher Ranger Suarez works against the Toronto Blue Jays during first-inning baseball game action in Toronto, Monday, April 27, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Chicago White Sox's Munetaka Murakami bats during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres Sunday, May 3, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is holding tentatively near its record heights Monday, while oil prices climb with uncertainty about when oil tankers can resume crossing the Strait of Hormuz and restore the world’s flow of crude. Dueling claims about a possible Iranian strike on a U.S. Navy vessel in the strait heightened the tensions.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, coming off its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 216 points, or 0.4%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.1%.
The action was stronger in the oil market, where the price for a barrel of Brent crude climbed 2% to $110.37 and briefly topped $114 during the morning. Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to its war with the United States has kept oil tankers pent up in the Persian Gulf and away from customers worldwide. That in turn has sent the price of Brent soaring from roughly $70 per barrel before the war.
President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States would guide ships through the strait, which could get oil flowing again and bring down its price. But prices instead climbed after Iranian news agencies claimed Monday that Iran had struck a U.S. Navy vessel southeast of the Strait of Hormuz, accusing it of “violating maritime security and navigation norms.”
The U.S. military quickly rejected the claims and later said two American-flagged merchant ships had “successfully transited through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Even with all the uncertainty about how long the war with Iran will last, the U.S. stock market has managed to power to record after record. Hope is still high on Wall Street that the global economy can avoid a worst-case scenario because of the war. And in the meantime, companies continue to deliver big growth in profits.
Tyson Foods joined the list Monday, topping analysts’ expectations for both profit and revenue during the latest quarter. It sold less beef than it did a year ago, but it did so at prices that were 11.5% higher, so its total beef revenue edged up. After initially rising, its stock swung lower and was down 2.2%.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings likewise delivered better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. But it’s feeling the effects of the war, which has not only raised pressure on fuel prices but also pushed some customers to think twice about travel plans, particularly to Europe. The cruise operator said some “execution missteps” also have bookings below where it would like.
Its stock fell 4.7%.
Jumping to one of Wall Street’s biggest gains was eBay, which climbed 5.6% after GameStop said it wanted to buy its much bigger rival for $125 per share in cash and stock. Coming into the day, eBay had a total market value that was nearly quadruple GameStop’s.
GameStop said it has already built a 5% stake in eBay and sees opportunities to cut $2 billion in annual costs quickly. GameStop, whose stock briefly soared to market-shaking heights during the meme stock craze of 2021, fell 4%.
In stock markets abroad, indexes jumped 5.1% in South Korea and 1.2% in Hong Kong, while markets were closed in mainland China and Japan for holidays.
European indexes fared worse, with France’s CAC 40 falling 1%.
In the bond market, Treasury yield edged up as oil prices climbed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.41% from 4.39% late Friday.
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
Options trader Anthony Spina, foreground, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A tanker, left, and a car carrier are anchored at sea in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from the coast near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Friday, May 1, 2026.(AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Options trader, left to right, Scott Frinzi, Dave Rushand and Marty Handler, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Derek Orth works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A dealer watches computer monitors at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
The screen showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won is seen at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Dealers watch computer monitors near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer watches computer monitors at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
