Munetaka Murakami homers twice as the White Sox beat the Cubs 8-3

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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.

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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