SAN FRANCISCO — Munetaka Murakami came up twice in the fourth inning Friday night. The first time, he took a pitch off his leg. The second time, he cleared the bases.
In between, six other White Sox hitters stepped in and did their part. Trevor McDonald retired the first nine batters he faced and didn't make it out of the fourth. The Giants allowed nine runs in an inning for the first time in nearly six years. And by the time the Oracle Park crowd processed what had just happened, the White Sox had a lead they were never going to give back — beating San Francisco 9-4 to open this three-game series on Friday night.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 1 |
| SF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
One Inning Changed Everything
McDonald was excellent. For exactly three innings, he was as good as his numbers — retired the first nine White Sox hitters in order, didn't waste a pitch, didn't come close to trouble. It looked like it was going to be that kind of night.
Then the fourth happened.
He hit Sam Antonacci to lead off, then hit Murakami two batters later. Miguel Vargas flew out to left for the first out. Colson Montgomery coaxed an infield single to load the bases, and Chase Meidroth drew a four-pitch walk to force home the first run. Still just one out. Andrew Benintendi came up and drove a double to left-center that emptied two of those bases — Montgomery and Murakami both scored, and it was 3-0 with Meidroth at third.
Edgar Quero grounded to second — the throw went home, Meidroth scored, all runners safe. Benintendi at third, Quero at first, still just one out. Peters struck out for the second. Derek Hill singled to shallow right and Benintendi came home to make it 5-0. That's when manager Tony Vitello walked to the mound and pulled McDonald.
Ryan Borucki got the ball. He hit Antonacci — the second time the left fielder had been plunked in the same inning. Bases loaded again. Murakami stepped in for his second plate appearance of the inning, worked a 1-2 count, and drove a Borucki pitch deep to left. All three runners scored. Eight to nothing.
Miguel Vargas followed with a squibber toward short. Willy Adames charged, fielded it, and threw to first — wild. Murakami scored. Nine to nothing. Colson Montgomery struck out to end it.
Thirteen batters. Nine runs. Five hits. Two hit batters. One error. The Giants hadn't allowed nine in an inning since they gave up nine to the Athletics in the fifth inning on August 16, 2020.
Martin Takes Win No. 7 — With the Streak Intact
Davis Martin didn't have his sharpest stuff Friday night, and it didn't matter.
He needed 98 pitches to get through 5⅔ innings, allowed six hits, and walked two. The Giants scored three times in the fifth and once in the sixth to trim the gap to 9-4 before Tyler Davis inherited the mess and helped close it out. On a night when the offense did the heavy lifting, Martin was good enough.
Good enough still means 7-1. Good enough still means he struck out seven for the sixth consecutive start. And it still means he's now 11-2 over his last 19 outings dating back to August 10, 2025 — a run that's put him in the conversation as one of the better pitchers in the American League.
The streak most worth watching is the innings one. Martin has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 18 consecutive starts going into this trip. Tonight snapped it. Four earned runs in 5⅔ isn't the kind of line that defines a start — his ERA ticked up from 1.61 to 2.04, still one of the best numbers in the league.
He ground-balled his way through the first four innings, 13-0 on grounders when the White Sox needed him most. The back end of his start was messier. The Giants worked counts, put runners on, and eventually got on the board. But the White Sox were already up nine. So that's what matters.
Pitcher Stats
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | PC-ST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martin (W, 7-1) | 5.2 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 98-60 |
| Davis | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20-13 |
| Eisert | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 13-7 |
| Richards | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10-7 |
| McDonald (L, 2-1) | 3.2 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 66-41 |
| Borucki | 1.1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 37-23 |
| Miller | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 19-11 |
| Brubaker | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 41-28 |
McDonald Was Good Right Until He Wasn't
There's a reason the Giants were excited about Trevor McDonald going into this season. He made his first career start last September against the Dodgers — six innings, no runs — and then struck out 10 in his second start against Colorado. He joined Fernando Valenzuela as the only pitchers since 1913 to record 20 or more strikeouts than walks while allowing two or fewer earned runs through his first three career starts. The 25-year-old righty from Lucedale, Mississippi, looked like someone who knew exactly what he was doing.
He still looked that way through three innings Friday night. Perfect. Efficient. Eleven of 15 pitches for strikes through three frames, nothing remotely dangerous, the kind of start that makes you wonder why the Giants can't win more games.
Then he hit two batters with one out in the fourth and couldn't find the zone again. He left with two outs in that same inning — 66 pitches, seven runs charged to him, a 4.76 ERA that looks a lot different than the 2.37 he walked in with. His line: 3⅔ innings, three hits, seven runs, one walk. Two hit batters.
That's how quickly a pitching line can unravel. McDonald will get another start. He's shown enough to earn it.
Hill Makes the Most of the Chance
Jarred Kelenic was supposed to be in right field Friday night. He was scratched before first pitch with a lower back contusion, and Derek Hill slid into the lineup.
Hill went 1-for-4. His hit was an RBI single to shallow right in the middle of the fourth-inning avalanche that drove home Benintendi and made it 5-0. It's his sixth RBI of the season. It's also the kind of quiet contribution that goes unnoticed when nine runs score in an inning, but Hill was a piece of it.
On the Giants' side, a couple hours before first pitch San Francisco placed right fielder Jung Hoo Lee on the 10-day IL with a mid-back strain and called up outfield prospect Victor Bericoto from Triple-A Sacramento for his major league debut. Bericoto pinch-hit against Brandon Eisert in the eighth and struck out swinging. Wasn't much of a factor.
What's Next
Chicago goes for the series lead Saturday night at Oracle Park. Erick Fedde (0-4, 4.30 ERA) starts for the White Sox opposite Giants right-hander Adrian Houser (2-4, 5.25). First pitch is 3:05 p.m. Central.
The White Sox are 26-24. They've now won nine of their last twelve. Their all-time interleague record at Oracle Park is 9-3.