MLB playoffs 2026: Munetaka Murakami's home run powers White Sox to Game 1 ALDS win over Guardians

Munetaka Murakami's first career MLB postseason home run powered the Chicago White Sox to a 3-0 win over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday.Starting pitchers Hagen Smith and Parker Messick dominated early on, racking up strike outs through three innings. But in the top of the fourth, after a Miguel Vargas single, the White Sox struck.Messick's first-pitch sinker to Murakami was sent deep into the right-field seats at Progressive Field to put the visitors up 2-0.MUNETAKA MURAKAMI NO-DOUBTER FOR THE LEAD IN GAME 1 😳 pic.twitter.com/DgTFmynJQ0— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) October 3, 2026 Murakami's homer traveled 440 feet with an exit velocity of 112.2 mph, making it the hardest hit ball of this postseason.The Guardians had multiple opportunities to break through but failed to capitalize in consecutive innings when they had the bases loaded. In total, they had seven runners left on base in the game.Chicago added an insurance run in the seventh inning, when Colson Montgomery's double scored Kyle Teel after catcher Austin Hedges could not hang on to the ball.WHITE SOX GRAB A 3-0 LEAD IN THE 7TH 👀 pic.twitter.com/N8tNKqszL4— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) October 3, 2026 Grant Taylor spun four scoreless frames for the Sox, with six strikeouts and just two hits allowed, to shut the Guardians down the rest of the way and seal the Game 1 win for Chicago.The series will resume on Monday with Game 2 at Progressive Field (5 p.m. ET, TBS).Here's how all of the action from Game 1 of the ALDS between the Guardians and White Sox played out: