White Sox back above .500 as Rikuu Nishida shines in MLB debut

The White Sox social media team shared the moment Nishida received the news, with the 2023 11th-round draft pick left speechless.

His game did a lot of talking against the Twins, going 1-for-3 at the plate. Nishida recorded his first MLB hit during his second at-bat, reaching first on a soft-hit ball up the middle in the fourth inning.

The former Oregon Ducks' biggest impact, however, came in the field. Earlier, in the top of the second with runners on first and second and two outs, Nishida kept the score tied at one after fielding catcher Alex Jackson's base hit to right field by launching a perfect throw to the plate and getting Twins shortstop Orlando Arcia out at home.

It was an overall excellent debut for the diminutive 5-foot-6 Japanese-born product who shares a jersey number with Hall of Fame outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, one of the greatest Japanese players in MLB history.

His teammate, former Japan Central League star Munetaka Murakami, has also been a bright star as a rookie after signing a two-year, $34M contract with the White Sox in December 2025. Against the Twins, he hit his 18th home run of the season, the most in the AL and only two behind Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber for the MLB lead.

Nishida's strong start builds on the moment Chicago generated across its first 50 games. As Chicago Sports Network White Sox anchor Chuck Garfien noted on Saturday, the Sox have been markedly better to start the 2026 season than the previous two, during which the organization lost 223 games combined, including an MLB modern era record 121 games in 2024.

Those dog days are long over. The White Sox are currently second in the AL Central and are one of only five AL squads with a winning record. Per Baseball Reference, they have a 24.7 percent chance of making the playoffs, an increase of 11.1 percentage points over the last 30 days.

For the past few years, Chicago's season was already effectively over by the Memorial Day weekend, a sign of just how dismal those recent teams were. But this year is shaping up to be different. The White Sox finally have hope.