White Sox general manager Chris Getz heaped seemingly risky praise on Munetaka Murakami when he introduced the Japanese slugger in a news conference at the Rate three days before Christmas.

Getz raised eyebrows when he called Murakami “one of the most prolific power hitters on the planet.” But he looks spot-on prophetic.

Murakami went deep again in a 5-4 White Sox victory over the Nationals on Friday, launching a solo blast to center off Miles Mikolas in the fourth innings that got their attack started. The Sox finally went ahead for good on rookie Sam Antonacci’s tie-breaking sacrifice fly that scored Miguel Vargas in the eighth. Seranthony Dominguez worked around a double in the ninth for his sixth save as the South Siders ended a six-game home losing streak.

With six homers in his last seven games, Murakami now has 11 and tied the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez for the major-league lead.

“Well, it was a bold statement and I appreciate him going out there and hitting for power and supporting the statement,” Getz said. “That statement is driven by how much power you know is in that swing, in that body. But we know that it’s easier said than done to go out there and hit for power.

“And he’s really dialed it in fairly quickly in this league, which you never know until he get the at-bats under his belt. But thankfully for the White Sox, he’s gone out there and performed well.”

Murakami has 11 home runs in 26 games. He tied the MLB rookie record by homering in five consecutive games — three against the Athletics two against the Diamondbacks — on the Sox’ just-completed 4-2 road trip.

Murakami then upped it to six in his last seven. That tied a Sox record for 11 drives in March/April of a season set by Paul Konerko in 2010.

The streak might seem impressive, even in Japan. But not for Murakami.

“In Japan, I hit five [homers] in at-bats in a row,” he told reporters through an interpreter. “Yeah, I’ve got some records.”

As for tying for the MLB home-run lead at this point?

“It’s a long season,” Murakami said. “So when I end the season and look back, I hope there’s many home runs under my belt.”

Yep, Murakami has struck out 35 times in his first 109 plate appearance. That was expected after he fanned 25% of the time in eight seasons in Japan. But with the Sox, he was batting .253 with 22 hits and 21 walks, and scored 19 runs in a suddenly productive attack.

The 26-year-old first baseman’s overall plate presence, not just his power, isn’t lost on Getz.

“ ‘Mune’ is a prime example of someone that’s punishing, you know, certain pitches in the zone,” Getz said. “But anything outside the zone, he’s taking and earning those walks and other player are exemplifying that as well.

“He creates plenty of action and the action is either with his bat and when he doesn’t swing and takes walks. That level of patience potentially brings more opportunities for guys that are coming up to the plate with him on base.”

Getz also saluted Murakami’s work ethic that he called “top of the scale” and extends to defensive work and baserunning.

Murakami entered Friday tied for second in homers with 22-year-old Nationals slugger James Wood, who had gone deep in three consecutive games to reach 10.

First-year Nationals manager Blake Butera has been impressed with Wood — and Murakami — as the two young boppers meet in a potential power show on the South Side this weekend.

The 6-6, 234-pound Wood, along with shortstop CJ Abrams, have been producing big-time for the Nats. Both were acquired from the Padres in August 2022 in the blockbuster deal that sent Juan Soto and Josh Bell out west.

On Friday, Wood walked three times without a hit. He struck out twice, including with the tying run on third, to end the game.

“What ‘Woody’ does really well is he’s able to let the ball travel such a long time,” Butera said. “And with his bat speed — and obviously the size and strength that he has — he can wait just longer to make decisions whether to swing or not.”

Butera said he had his eye on where Murakami might land in the majors.

“I’ve kind of stayed up to date on how he’s doing,” Butera said. “I know it’s not always easy for Japanese players to come over to the U.S. and jump right into this and have success right away. But it seems like he is doing that.”