Boston Red Sox Japanese slugger Masataka Yoshida has moved into the top spot in the American League batting order.
Yoshida batted second in the line-up against the New York Mets at Fenway Park in Boston, USA, on 23 March.
The Mets’ starting pitcher was reigning Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer. Boston opened the scoring in the first inning with a leadoff home run by Jaren Duran. Yoshida followed with a single to left after being hit by a 94 mph fastball from Scherzer.
In his second at-bat of the inning, he hit Scherzer’s 84-mph changeup for a fielder’s choice and advanced to second on Scherzer’s throwing error at first base. In the fifth, he was out on a grounder to the first baseman. With two outs in the seventh and a 5-3 lead, he hit a single to left field.
Boston went on to win 8-6.
In the suspended game, which was suspended in the fourth inning due to rain the previous day and resumed this morning, Yoshida went 1-for-1 with a walk. He finished the game 1-for-3 with a walk.
Yoshida had three hits on the day, raising his season average to 3.019 (107-for-335). Tampa Bay’s Yandy Diaz went 0-for-3 on the day against Baltimore, dropping to 3-for-6 on the season.
Yoshida leads the league in hitting, Diaz is second. In third place is Cleveland’s Josh Naylor at 3-for-1, and in fourth is Toronto’s Bo Bissett at 3-for-1.
Yoshida has continued to hit well, going 3-for-4 in his last seven games and 4-for-9 in his last 15.온라인바카라
Yoshida, who signed a five-year, $90 million deal with Boston in the offseason, was considered an overpayment shortly after signing. He played for Japan at the World Baseball Classic in March, leading the team in batting and helping Japan win the tournament.
He has adapted quickly in his first year in the majors and is on pace to become the first American to lead the league in batting in his first year, following Ichiro in 2001.