Yoshida’s Story
Masataka Yoshida (BOS): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 6 RBI.
Masataka Yoshida came to America after several outstanding seasons in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball League, including four years with at least 20 home runs. Since joining the Boston Red Sox, Yoshida has struggled with his launch angle and exit velocity and ranked 206th among qualified hitters with just a 2.8% barrel rate.
None of that mattered in the eighth inning of Sunday night’s game as Yoshida blasted off not once, but twice in the same frame, propelling the Red Sox to a 12-5 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Yoshida stepped to the plate in the eighth inning, opening the inning with a shot over the right field fence, getting just enough of a curveball to knock it out of the park. Later in the inning, Yoshida crushed a hanging slider into the second deck for a grand slam. Yoshida had three batted ball events with a launch angle of at least 20 (he averages a -1.7 launch angle), adding a sacrifice fly earlier in the game.
For Yoshida, it could be a breakthrough. It marks his first multi-home run game and hopefully indicates that he has begun to right the launch angle ship (and exit velocity) ship!
Let’s see how the other hitters did Sunday
Matt Carpenter (SD): 3-3, 2 2B, HR, R, 5 RBI.
Carpenter began his day with a two-run double in the first inning, hammering a fastball to the base of the wall in straight-away center field. He flicked a sacrifice fly to left field in his next at-bat before crushing a solo shot over the right field wall in the fifth inning. Carpenter split the gap in left-center for his third hit of the day, driving in his fifth RBI of the day. With three hits, Carpenter raised his batting average to .289 on the season while racking up 18 RBI.
Brian Anderson (MIL): 2-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB.
Anderson continued his hot start to the season with a pair of solo blasts against the Red Sox. In the fourth inning, Anderson took a first-pitch slider the opposite way for a solo shot off of Brayan Bello. He added another opposite-field homer in the ninth when he lifted a sinker off of John Schreiber into the seats. The multi-homer game marked Anderson’s second of the season after he put two out of the park on April 4th against the Mets.
Amed Rosario (CLE): 4-5, 2B, 3B, 4 R, SB.
Rosario was a catalyst for the Guardians’ offense on Sunday afternoon, coming away with four hits, four runs scored and a stolen base as Cleveland defeated Miami. Rosario legged out a triple in the third inning and came around to score on a José Ramírez home run. He added a double to open the bottom of the fifth, and singles in the seventh and eighth innings as Cleveland tacked on some late runs to secure the win. It marked Rosario’s first four-hit game of the season and his fifth multi-hit game of the year.
Mookie Betts (LAD): 2-4, 2B, HR, R, 4 RBI, BB.
Betts helped the Dodgers come from behind and earn a victory over the Cubs in the series finale on Sunday at Wrigley Field. In the third inning, Betts lifted a Stroman sinker out to left-center field for a two-run home run. He added a two-run double in the ninth, providing Los Angeles with insurance runs (and ruining Brusdar Graterol’s save opportunity) making it a four-run game.
José Ramírez (CLE): 2-4, 2B, HR, R, 4 RBI.
Ramirez helped lift the Guardians to a victory over the Marlins with four RBI, including a two-run home run in the third inning. He lifted a 97-mph sinker to deep center field to give Cleveland an early lead. Ramirez later added a sacrifice fly and an RBI double as the Guardians pulled away. Not quite on the same torrid pace as a year ago, Ramirez has recorded 20 RBI in 21 games played this season.
Justin Turner (BOS): 2-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB.
Turner helped Boston rally past Milwaukee, homering to lead off a nine-run eighth inning as the Red Sox smacked the Brewers, 12-5. Turner jumped on a fastball in the eighth inning, sending it deep to left to tie the game and start a nine-run rally. It marked just his third home run of the season, improving his batting average to .299 on the year.
Taylor Ward (LAA): 1-3, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB.
Mike Trout (LAA): 3-4, 2 2B, HR, R, RBI.
Shohei Ohtani (LAA): 2-3, HR, R, 2 RBI.
Ward, Trout, and Ohtani went back-to-back-to-back in the sixth inning off of Jordan Lyles as the Angels took and held the lead over the Royals. Ward led off the inning, taking the first pitch he saw, a hanging sweeper, deep to left for a solo shot. Trout followed up by taking an 0-2 cutter deep to right-center for back-to-back home runs. Ohtani capped the run with a 415-foot shot off of a hanging curveball, ending Lyles’ afternoon. Trout added a pair of doubles for a three-hit day while Ohtani added an infield single and a sacrifice fly as the Halos pulled back to .500 (11-11) with the victory.
Jorge Polanco (MIN): 3-4, HR, R, 2 RBI.
In just his third game back from injury, Polanco announced his presence with authority, finishing with three hits including his first home run of the year. Polanco recorded a pair of singles and destroyed a hanging changeup for a home run down the left field line. Though fantasy managers will dearly miss Edouard Julien, Polanco should more than make up for Julien’s absence as the former All-Star returns to a formidable Twins lineup.