Column: Japanese duo Rikuu Nishida and Munetaka Murakami star despite Chicago White Sox loss

The addition of Rikuu Nishida to the Chicago White Sox was made to help lift the lineup, giving manager Will Venable back-to-back speedsters at the bottom and top in Nishida and Sam Antonacci.

But the Sox also hope that Nishida’s presence can help slugger Munetaka Murakami get more comfortable in the clubhouse, being able to talk to a teammate in Japanese.

The two were center stage Tuesday night at Rate Field, teaming up for some late-game heroics after the Sox were shut down all night by Twins ace Joe Ryan.

Nishida’s eighth-inning single and a two-run shot by Murakami, his 19th of the season, tied the game at 2-2, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Nishida waited for Murakami at the plate and bowed before they high-fived each other.

But the Twins took the final bow, scoring three in the 11th on Brooks Lee’s bases-clearing double and holding off the Sox for a 5-3, 11-inning win.

Sean Burke threw seven strong innings, allowing two runs on three hits with eight strikeouts, but was outdueled by Ryan, whose only mistake was a sweeper to Murakami in the eighth that landed over the right field fence.

Murakami called it a “tough loss,” but welcomed the addition of Nishida.

“I never really had a teammate I can talk to in Japanese,” he said through interpreter Kenzo Yagi. “Obviously I’ve only had Kenzo beside me. It’s really nice for me to communicate in baseball in Japanese as well. He’a a very energetic player, a good player to have in the locker room, and I really appreciate that.”

Murakami’s home run was his American League-leading 19th, though he said he was disappointed in himself for failing to come through in 10th, when he grounded into a double play with two on to end the inning. Still, he’s on pace for 57 home runs, which would smash the White Sox record of 49, held by Albert Belle.

“I’m not really caught up in any records and such,” Murakami said. “Tomorrow is going to be a new day. My first at-bat will be a new one, so I want to keep concentrating on what’s coming next.”

Nishida went 1-for-4 and threw out a runner at the plate in the 10th inning, just as he did on Monday in his major-league debut. He struck out in the 10th trying to bunt with two strikes and the ghost runner on second.

“It starts with Rikuu and what he brings to the table,” general manager Chris Getz told me before Tuesday’s game. “He can defend, base run, he’s high contact, a lot of energy, and is just a fun player. He’s a winning player that we knew would mix in with the clubhouse.

“But there’s the added benefit of having someone that’s Japanese. Obviously we have a translator and support staff (for Murakami), but to have a teammate now I think will be helpful with the comfort level and just communication in general.”

Getz pointed to Nishida striking out in his first at-bat Monday against Zebby Matthews and talking to Murakami in the on-deck circle about what pitches he saw before heading into the dugout.

“That was pretty cool,” Getz said. “And obviously this is day two for Rikuu, and he’ll mix in well. But there is a bonus, him being Japanese.”

Venable also pointed to the on-deck conversation between the two players as an example of what Nishida can bring to the table, along with his on-field talent.

“That’s obviously something that can happen with some of our other players, but you know you're going to get information through Rikuu there,” Venable said. “Same thing, as we’re working really hard with Kenzo to make sure that the messaging and the game planning (for Murakami) is being translated accurately, which we're confident it is.

“But to have Rikuu there also - to be another voice, another perspective from somebody who’s at the plate, who's hitting, who understands all this stuff to another degree - is also very helpful."

Nishida said having Murakami and Yagi in the clubhouse is an asset for him as he navigates through his days in the majors.

"He's strong, he has big leadership (skills), and he’s like a dad to me,” he said of Murakami. “You can just rely on him all the time …There's a lot of Japanese guys, and there’s a lot of Japanese media here too, so I'm really comfortable here right now.”

The Japanese media mostly is here for Murakami, but he doesn’t do pregame interviews, according to the White Sox, so they happily switched gears and made Nishida their focus. Murakami didn’t speak after homering Monday in deference to Nishida, but made an exception after Tuesday’s loss.

As the team’s biggest star, he should be more accessible. But the Sox aren’t going to force him to change his routines, much like the Los Angeles Dodgers accommodate Shohei Ohtani’s reluctance to speak with the media on a regular basis. So Nishida’s outgoing persona will have to make up for Murakami’s relative silence.

Either way, the Sox could use the buzz the two Japanese players can create to help draw more fans to Rate Field this summer. The three-game series against the Cubs in the last homestand and Monday’s Memorial Day game have all seen big crowds of more than 30,000 at the ballpark.

The Sox were averaging 20,637 per game entering Tuesday, around 2,000 more per game than last year’s average of 18,201. The summer months generally draw bigger crowds, so if the Sox continue to play well and Murakami keeps hitting home runs, they could see their biggest attendance increase since before the pandemic.

Getz doesn’t have anything to do with marketing and leaves it to marketing guru Brooks Boyer. But it doesn’t take a genius to know that Murakami’s home runs and Nishida’s personality can make a difference at the box office.

“It just kind of adds to the story, in a way, from a marketing standpoint,” Getz said. “You’d think it would be helpful, to have more eyes on the White Sox.”

Now if they can get more games televised for free on “the U,” the Sox should be all set.

David Sandlin to make his debut Wednesday

Starter Noah Schultz was placed on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday with right knee patellar tendinitis, which he said has been nagging him for the last week or so.

“Just something that I've kind of dealt with last year, but something you catch before it gets worse,” Schultz said. “Tried playing through it last year. At the time it was not worth playing through. We already have a schedule for the next week or so and are kind of getting back into it."

Venable said the Sox believe it’s a minimal IL stint and Schultz will continue keeping his arm strong while resting the knee. The move was made retroactive to Monday.

Starter David Sandlin, acquired from the Boston Red Sox on Feb. 1 along with reliever Jordan Hicks, was called up from Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday and will make his major-league debut Wednesday against the Twins.

The 6-foot-4 Sandlin, who played with Cubs star Cade Horton at the University of Oklahoma, posted a 0.75 ERA and 17 strikeouts over 12 innings in his four starts at Charlotte. Before Tuesday’s game he spoke of his unusual journey to the majors, saying he didn’t play varsity baseball until his senior year in high school and was not recruited by any college.

He wound up at Eastern Oklahoma State.

“I sent emails to all the junior colleges in Oklahoma, and they were the only ones that answered the email back, so I went down there,” he said.

For the 2022 season he transferred to Oklahoma, became an 11th-round draft pick by Kansas City later that summer, and now begins his big-league career with the Sox, his third organization. He’s the latest call-up from Charlotte, where the next wave of prospects is anxiously watching the rebuild.

“I'd say everybody there is biding their time, putting their work in,” Sandlin said. “We want to have fun and work down there and try and replicate the vibes we see on TV up here.”

How are those vibes?

“Immaculate, I'd say,” he said. “It looks like they're having a good time, winning games. You can’t really beat that.”

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This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 7:45 PM.