Munetaka Murakami will play more first base before leaving for Japan

GLENDALE, Ariz — Munetaka Murakami has handled first base flawlessly in his first two games for the White Sox, and manager Will Venable confirmed his left-handed-hitting slugger will receive more playing time at his new position before departing Friday for Japan to play in the World Baseball Classic.

Murakami, who played five innings at first Sunday against the Brewers, will start Monday as the designated hitter against the Rockies before returning to first on Wednesday and Thursday.

“It's still a process, but I'm getting used to little by little, so I'm getting there,” Murakami said after making an unassisted putout on a slow grounder by Jesus Made in the the third and a catch of a foul pop by Jeferson Quero against the dugout railing in the fifth.

“Once I got to it, there was the fence right over here, so I was pretty surprised, but I'm really glad that I got it,” Murakami said.

In his first game for the Sox at first on Friday, Murakami handled a grounder and flipped to pitcher Tyler Schweitzer at first to complete a smooth putout.

Murakami, 26, played third base for most of eight seasons in Yakult, but first base will be his primary position with the Sox. It doesn’t hurt that he played 266 games at first, but only eight last season for Yakult.

Murakami was positioned one step in front of the first base bag while facing the mound when holding runners, then pivoting and squared toward home plate as the pitch was being delivered.

Venable wanted to give Murakami wanted to give ample time at first before he leaves for Japan, where he’s expected to play third.

“If I'm feeling healthy and good, I'll try to play every single game that's out there,” said Murakami, who went 0-for-2 with a strikeout Sunday.

Homework on ABS

The Sox will be somewhat selective in using the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS) they used successfully on Saturday.

The Sox have studied data from the 2025 season at the Triple-A level, examining what type of pitches and locations have worked, as well as the best time to issue a challenge.

“Guys have an understanding, and we want to use this time in camp to fine-tune our strategy,” Venable said.

Catcher Edgar Quero said bench coach Walker McKinven has reviewed the system with the catchers, adding, “if we 100 percent (believe) it’s going to be a strike, we can challenge.” But in most cases, they might save challenges for the last inning in key situations.

Each team has two challenges, which can be retained if the call is overturned.

Boxed in

Venable has received mix messages from umpires regarding enforcement of the coaches’ box, in which umpires must insure that coaches are “within their designated areas” while the pitcher is on the rubber.

“Our understanding now is that it’s really going to be the depth or the proximity to the foul line and to home plate, where then you have space to go back away from the foul line or away from home plate,” Venable said. “That’s what we’re expecting.”

The rule puts third base coach Justin Jirschele in a tough spot with a runner at second base, Venable said.

Sox 5, Brewers 2

• Dru Baker, Sam Antonacci and Drew Romo collected RBI hits during a three-run sixth that helped overcome a 2-1 deficit. Austin Hays, battling for playing time at the corner outfield spots, led off the second with a double and scored on Curtis Mead’s single.

• Catcher Korey Lee, who is out of options and could be the odd man out in a two-catcher alignment, nailed two would-be base stealers. Antonacci, however, bobbled a potential double-play grounder at second in the fifth.

• Mike Vasil, battling for a spot in the back end of the rotation, threw 18 pitches to the first three batters and was disappointed that he fell constantly behind in counts. He left after 26 pitches with two out in the first, but returned in the second for 16 more pitches before being pulled in favor of Luke Bell with two out.

On deck: Sox at Rockies, 2:10 p.m. Monday, Scottsdale, Shane Smith vs. Michael Lorenzen.