CHICAGO (Interstat) — Munetaka Murakami homered twice and drove in three runs, Sean Burke allowed one run over 5 1/3 innings and the Chicago White Sox beat the Colorado Rockies 6-1 on Friday at Guaranteed Rate Field. The White Sox scored twice in the first, once in the third, once in the seventh and twice in the eighth. Colorado’s only run came in the second. Burke earned the win, while Tomoyuki Sugano took the loss. The game took 2 hours, 31 minutes and was played before 35,778.

Murakami delivered the game’s loudest swings. He hit a solo home run to right field in the first inning for his 34th of the season. He then added a solo shot to left-center in the seventh for No. 35, giving him a team-high total. In the eighth, Murakami singled sharply to right field to drive in another run, finishing 3-for-4 with two homers and three RBIs. It was his third career multi-home run game and the 11th multi-homer game by a White Sox player this season. The first-inning homer came after Miguel Vargas opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly. Kyle Teel also had a sacrifice fly in the third. Teel finished 1-for-3 with two RBIs.

Burke capped a breakout season with a steady outing. He struck out seven, walked one and scattered four hits. The right-hander finished the season with a 3.34 ERA and a career-high 185 strikeouts over 172 1/3 innings. He improved to 11-7. After Burke departed, Grant Taylor followed with two hitless innings and three strikeouts. Hagen Smith recorded two outs, and Bryan Hudson pitched a perfect inning. The White Sox bullpen did not allow a run over the final 3 2/3 innings.

Colorado managed four hits. TJ Rumfield provided the Rockies’ run with a homer to right field in the second inning. He went 2-for-4 with one RBI. Hunter Goodman doubled, and Ezequiel Tovar also doubled. The Rockies could not sustain pressure against Burke or the Chicago relievers. Sugano pitched into the seventh and allowed four earned runs on six hits. He struck out five and walked one while falling to 12-12. Brennan Bernardino recorded one out for Colorado.

The White Sox set the tone early. Sam Antonacci singled in the first, but he was erased on Kyle Teel’s force out. Teel then scored on Miguel Vargas’ sacrifice fly. Murakami followed with his first homer. Colorado answered in the top of the second when Rumfield homered to right, but Chicago rebuilt its cushion in the third. Braden Montgomery singled, Antonacci singled and Teel lifted a sacrifice fly to center that scored Montgomery. The White Sox led 3-1 after three innings.

Sugano kept the Rockies within reach through the middle innings. He retired the side in order in the fourth, and Chicago went down quietly in the fifth. Colorado’s best chance after the second came in the sixth, when Goodman doubled and Kyle Karros walked. But Burke and the bullpen responded, with Cole Carrigg striking out swinging to end the threat, leaving Goodman at second and Karros at first. In the seventh, Troy Johnston, Zac Veen and Tovar all went down, two by strikeout. Murakami’s second homer then restored Chicago’s three-run lead.

The White Sox added separation in the eighth. Braden Montgomery singled, Antonacci singled and Teel singled home Montgomery. Murakami then singled home Antonacci to make it 6-1. Tristan Peters and Andrew Benintendi were retired later in the inning, but the damage was done. Antonacci finished with three hits and scored once, while Braden Montgomery had two hits and scored twice. Colorado went quietly in the eighth and ninth. Jake McCarthy, Adael Amador and Goodman were retired in the eighth. In the ninth, Rumfield popped out, Karros grounded out and Carrigg flied out to center fielder Brenton Doyle.

The win moved Chicago to 83-77 as it kept pressure on Cleveland in the American League Central. The White Sox entered the final regular-season series trailing the Guardians by one game. Cleveland’s Friday start in Kansas City was delayed by rain. Chicago owns the 7-6 season-series tiebreaker edge, so breaking even in the standings would be enough for the White Sox. Qualifying for the playoffs did not change the club’s day-to-day focus of reaching 83 wins after losing 100-plus games in each of the last three seasons. Instead of setting up pitching for a potential American League Wild Card Series, Chicago started Burke.

If Davis Martin pitches as well in the next game as Burke did Friday, the White Sox might not have to worry about the Wild Card. Colorado fell to 57-103. Colson Montgomery also set the major league single-season high for strikeouts with No. 224. The Rockies’ slide continued after a loss to Arizona, their fourth straight defeat. Chicago had won four of its previous five games, including a 9-1 victory at Kansas City in its most recent road series.

Murakami’s recent form had included a home run at Kansas City and RBIs in each of the previous two games. He had gone 1-for-4 with one RBI in the two games before the two-homer performance. Chicago’s offense finished with 10 hits against Colorado, while the Rockies had four. Colorado’s four hits included two doubles and a home run. The White Sox made two sacrifice flies and played clean defense behind their pitchers.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Colorado Rockies 2, Chicago White Sox 7. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Chicago White Sox with a 67.6 percent probability to win. Chicago White Sox had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The over/under line was 8.5, and the game’s combined score was 7. The projected final score favored Chicago by five runs. The pregame spread and over/under were set before first pitch. The simulator and ELO projections were made before the game.