Masataka Yoshida is on an absolute tear for the Red Sox -- again
BOSTON -- Masataka Yoshida is on an epic tear for the Red Sox. Again.
Following a rare 0-for-4 day on Saturday -- his 30th birthday -- Yoshida was back to his baseball-destroying ways on Sunday. His 3-for-5 afternoon against the Cubs in Chicago was highlighted by a two-out grand slam in the fifth inning that put Boston on top 6-0 at the time.
After taking the first two pitches against Justin Steele, Yoshida smoked a 2-0 fastball from the Cubs ace into the right field basket above Wrigley Field's famous ivy wall. It was Yoshida's 11th homer of the season, and the second grand slam of his career.
The slam was Yoshida's first hit of the afternoon, breaking up an 0-for-6 slump going back to Saturday, but it wasn't his last. He tripled in a pair of runs in the top of the seventh to put Boston on top 8-0 and then scored on a wild pitch. Yoshida also smacked a single in the top of the ninth, giving him his seventh three-hit game of his rookie campaign.
Yoshida has now posted multiple-hit games in nine of his last 10 contests going back to June 30. He's 20-for-43 at the dish over that span with a 1.245 OPS, and has seen his batting average climb to .317 over the stretch.
"Whenever I can hit, I want to hit a lot," Yoshida said through a translator after Sunday's win.
When it rains it pours for Boston's prized free-agent signing from the offseason. He's now collected at least two hits in 36 of his 81 games this season. (The Red Sox have won 24 of those games.) He's now had four different four-game streaks with multiple hits, including an eight-game streak that came to an end Saturday afternoon.
In addition to his team-leading .317 average, Yoshida leads Boston with a .381 on-base percentage and an .883 OPS. His 100 hits are tied with Justin Turner for the most on the roster, though Yoshida hit the century mark in nine fewer games than Turner.
"He's good, man," manager Alex Cora said Sunday. "There's nothing else I can say."
