Houston Astros at Chicago White Sox

CHICAGO – Munetaka Murakami has changed the White Sox franchise, a sentiment reiterated since April. Look no further than the team’s 2 1/2-game lead in the American League Central with 58 games remaining following Sunday’s 12-3 victory over the Astros at Rate Field for an example of his immense influence. He altered the culture from the moment he arrived, putting talk of rebuilds in the rearview mirror, and his second multihomer game reinforced that point. The first baseman’s impact stayed strong even during a 35-game absence due to a Grade 2 right hamstring strain. And it’s growing deeper by the day. Let’s use an extended look at Sunday’s action to see the best of Murakami. **On-field results** Well, we have to start here, the crux of why the White Sox spent $34 million over two years to bring the left-handed slugger from Japan to the South Side. His home run in the first inning off Ronel Blanco ended a streak of 13 games and 42 at-bats without going deep, and the two-run shot covering 385 feet to left also snapped a 10-game run without an RBI. Murakami didn’t stop there, adding a two-run single in the seventh and a solo blast in the eighth for a career-high six RBIs. “It was going to come sooner or later,” Murakami said through interpreter Kenzo Yagi. “It’s not like I’ve been having bad approaches. I wasn’t hitting home runs, but the approach itself was good. It was all about being patient in the box.” “We all knew that whenever he came back, he was going to be able to help the team, and that’s what he does,” said third baseman Miguel Vargas, whose two-run homer in the sixth proved to be the game-winner. “It’s just Mune being Mune.” **Bobblehead** The White Sox gave away a bobblehead Sunday representing Murakami’s first career home run on Opening Day in Milwaukee, with the packaging being almost as cool as the bobblehead itself.