Boston Red Sox fans overjoyed as Masataka Yoshida hits two homers against Milwaukee Brewers: "Bringing out the guns" "He’s getting hot!"
Boston Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida has been heating up over the past handful of games following a frigid start to his MLB career.
Yoshida had his biggest game of the season on Sunday at the Milwaukee Brewers, hitting two home runs in the third inning as part of a 2-for-4 day with six RBIs.
MASATAKA YOSHIDA GRAND SLAM! HE HIT TWO HOME RUNS IN THE SAME INNING! https://t.co/433lm3XoMc
Masataka Yoshida, who came to the Boston Red Sox from his native Japan on a five-year, $90 million contract, has recently begun to display much of the hitting prowess that made him a sought-after international free agent this offseason.
Yoshida has a four-game hitting streak going, with multiple hits in three of those four games. The two homers on Sunday were his first round-trippers since April 3.
Red Sox fans are optimistic that the display is not a blip, as he has shown signs of breaking out of his slump while going hitless this week.
@TalkinBaseball_ He's getting hot! I really enjoyed watching him in the WBC.
@Jared_Carrabis Bringing out the guns https://t.co/ewwgliJMjP
@Jared_Carrabis World Baseball Classic Champion Masataka Yoshida**
Many MLB evaluators figured that the type of raw power that Masataka Yoshida showed while playing in Japan would not translate to the Red Sox. However, it was believed that he would hit for a good average in the majors by hitting the ball hard to all fields rather than being a constant pull hitter.
Sunday's homers gave Yoshida three for the season, and his hit streak has raised his batting average from .167 to .233.
@Jared_Carrabis Not bad for a little guy 😊👍
@Jared_Carrabis AL Rookie of the Year
@Jared_Carrabis Yoshida getting hot
The 29-year-old played seven seasons with the Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league. The left-handed slugger batted .327 with 133 home runs and 467 RBIs in 762 games with the Buffaloes.
A four-time NPB All-Star and two-time Pacific League batting champion, Yoshida led the league in OPS in both 2021 (.992) and 2022 (1.008). He won the 2022 Japan Series title with Orix and helped lead Japan to the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games as well as the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
@Jared_Carrabis YOSHI OUR SAVIOR
🤴
@Jared_Carrabis Masa has been activated.. crown this man..🙏🤴👑 https://t.co/UkwoEUb7cq
love it@Jared_Carrabis Why are dude’s pants so high 😂😂😂💀 love it
Of course, Boston fans are holding out hope that somehow, someway, ownership's lack of spending as of late means one thing: the Red Sox are going after Los Angeles Angels phenomenon Shohei Ohtani this coming offseason. Ohtani is a prospective free agent, and it has been predicted that he could command $50 million a year on the open market.
@Jared_Carrabis Ohtani approves of his future teammate https://t.co/kaXRTYOqzA
Masataka Yoshida's introduction still has Boston Red Sox fans swooning
Boston Red Sox fans didn't have a whole lot to be chipper about during the winter, but Masataka Yoshida's introductory news conference in December warmed a lot of hearts.
After signing his contract, Yoshida met the press with his agent, Scott Boras. While he does not speak English, he smiled throughout the press conference.