Munetaka Murakami's bases-clearing double capped a nine-run fourth and turned a pitchers' duel into a rout. The outburst lifted the Chicago White Sox to a 9-4 win over the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on May 22. Davis Martin worked 5 2/3 innings, allowed four runs with seven strikeouts and improved to 7-1. The loss dropped San Francisco to 20-31, 11 games under .500; Erick Fedde is scheduled to start Game 2 on May 23 against Giants right-hander Adrian Houser.

The baseball on the scoreboard told the story: an 8-0 swing inside one inning that decided the opener of the three-game series. The White Sox arrived at Oracle Park in a groove and left with a run-of-the-season frame that erased a pitchers' duel and turned a close game into a one-sided finish.

How the fourth broke it open

The sequence began clean for the Giants. Starter Trevor McDonald retired the first nine White Sox hitters, then unraveled after a leadoff hit-by-pitch. McDonald hit Sam Antonacci and then Munetaka Murakami to open the fourth, and things cascaded from there.

Colson Montgomery followed with a single. A Chase Meidroth walk set up Andrew Benintendi, whose two-run double produced the first damage. Edgar Quero then reached on a fielder's choice and Derek Hill delivered an RBI single, forcing the Giants to pull McDonald after he threw 35 pitches in the inning.

Reliever Ryan Borucki compounded San Francisco's trouble by hitting Antonacci, loading the bases. Murakami, a rookie, then cleared them with a double to left for a three-run, bases-loaded knock that pushed the score to 8-0. Chicago added a ninth run in the inning on a throwing error. The nine runs were the most the Giants had allowed in a single inning since Aug. 16, 2020.

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Chicago starter Davis Martin was lifted after 5 2/3 innings, finishing with seven strikeouts, two walks and six hits allowed. He yielded four runs but still improved his record to 7-1.

"It’s a little different for us, but that’s what the offense can do," Martin said, summing up how his club absorbed an uneven start thanks to a single game-changing inning.

The Giants didn't pack it in. San Francisco scored three runs across the fifth and sixth innings against Martin and the White Sox bullpen, but the deficit created by that fourth inning proved too large. The White Sox collected most of their offense in that one frame and still finished with nine runs despite being otherwise quiet at the plate.

Oracle Park provided one of the night's liveliest images in the eighth inning, when the crowd joined the viral "tarps off" shirt-twirling trend. The loss pushed San Francisco to 20-31, 11 games below .500. Chicago left town with more than a win: the club extended a hot stretch, winning nine of 12 contests.

The series continues with Erick Fedde scheduled to take the mound for the White Sox on May 23 against Giants right-hander Adrian Houser. The middle game presents an immediate chance for the Giants to respond and for Chicago to keep its momentum on the road.

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Erick Fedde is scheduled to start the middle game, Game 2, on May 23 against Adrian Houser.

This article was created with AI assistance.