Munetaka Murakami has reached the magic number.

The only thing in front of him now is history.

The Tokyo Yakult Swallows’ dynamic 22-year-old slugger continued his assault on the single-season home run record on Tuesday night, adding two more to reach 55 for the season during a 9-7 loss against the Yomiuri Giants at Jingu Stadium.

Murakami’s 55 home runs tie him with Sadaharu Oh (1964), Tuffy Rhodes (2001) and Alex Cabrera (2002) for the second-most in a single season. Former Swallows slugger Wladimir Balentien set the NPB record of 60 in 2013.

"It felt perfect," Murakami said of his 55th homer, according to Nikkan Sports. "I got it on the sweet spot, so I thought it was going to be a home run."

Murakami also matched Oh for the most home runs by a Japan-born player in a single season.

"I feel honored and happy, he said. "This is a record I could not achieve alone. I'm grateful to my parents for giving me a strong body and everyone who supported me."

Murakami's home run chase in Japan is being mirrored by New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge's pursuit of the American League mark (61) in MLB. It was Murakami, though, who spent a few hours on the front page of MLB.com on Tuesday.

Murakami is tied with three other players, but standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Oh carries extra meaning. The former Yomiuri Giants great, who famously hit a world-record 868 home runs during his career, remains a revered figure in Japan. Until now, no Japanese slugger, not even former Giants superstar Hideki Matsui, had been able to match Oh’s then-NPB record total.

"It's hard to hit more than 50 home runs," Oh said during a meeting with the media in Fukuoka Tuesday night, according to Sankei Sports. "The seasons change from spring to summer to fall, and the physical condition also changes."

Oh also noted the proliferation of analytics in baseball and the rarity of having four at-bats against the same pitcher in today's game as challenges he did not face in 1964.

"It's harder to hit this amount of home runs than it was in our era," he said.

Tuesday was a night of home runs at Jingu Stadium — there were eight altogether — and Murakami joined the fray with a towering shot to right off Giants starter Tomoyuki Sugano to start the bottom of the fourth inning.

Murakami's 54th of the year tied him with Hanshin Tigers great Randy Bass for the third-most in a single season.

Murakami made it to the plate with two outs in the ninth thanks to a Yomiuri error and made the most of the opportunity. He connected on a 1-0 fastball from Giants closer Taisei Ota and sent a ball deep into the night sky for an opposite-field, three-run homer to left.

Now the question is: Can he catch Balentien over the Swallows’ final 15 games?

Balentien hit his 55th and 56th home runs — in the same game — with 18 games left to play in 2013. He also did not have to finish the season with the pressure of chasing the record on his shoulders.

The Swallows have eight road games remaining, which works in Murakami's favor, as he is hitting .385 with 33 homers on the road. The Swallows will play their other seven games at home at Jingu Stadium, where Murakami has a .278 average and 22 home runs in 61 games.

Murakami will also face the two teams he has homered against the most this season, with four games left against the Chunichi Dragons and two with the Hiroshima Carp. He has 13 home runs against each club.

Murakami is the NPB leader in at-bats per home run (AB/HR) with an average of 7.98, which gives him a clear shot at Balentien. The second-best AB/HR in Japan this season is Hotaka Yamakawa at 10.41.

Murakami will also be buoyed by playing on a first-place team — Balentien’s Swallows finished last — that wants to see him reach the record, and by his pursuit of the Triple Crown.

The young star, however, is only focused on the goal in front of him.

“I want to hit No. 56 next,” he said.