Red Sox

Masataka Yoshida is red hot as the Red Sox continue to fall

The rookie outfielder hit .354 with 12 extra-base hits in May.

By Peyton Doyle

June 1, 2023

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Masataka Yoshida has continued to shine at the plate for the Red Sox despite the team’s overall struggles.

Over his last four games, “Macho Man” has nine hits and three walks but Boston has just one win.

His hot hitting didn’t just start this past weekend however. He’s recorded multiple hits eight times since May 12 and is hitting .355 in his 16 games. Over that same time period, Boston went 6-11 and fell into last place in the AL East.

The offense around Yoshida has been relatively dormant. The Red Sox have scored just 4.06 runs per game over their past 17 games. Over their previous 17, they averaged 5.88 runs per game.

Over the 17-game span, Yoshida is responsible for 14 percent of the team’s total hits, and has either scored or driven in 22 percent of their runs.

Unluckily for Boston, as Yoshida has surged, their stars from earlier in the season have slumped.

Since May 12, Rafael Devers is slashing .242/.254/.403, and the team has won just four games he’s played in. Over that same stretch, Jarren Duran is hitting just .186 with an OPS of .512 after slashing .372/.420/.603 in his first 22 games of the season.

Alex Verdugo too has cooled off. After posting an .880 OPS to start the season, he has a .683 mark in his last 15 games.

Yoshida is one of the few hitters on the entire roster who has improved rather than regressed as the season’s gone along.

For those that don’t remember, the outfielder had a rather frigid first two weeks of the season.

Thirteen games into the season Yoshida was hitting just .167 with two extra-base hits. Now after his 47th game on Wednesday, which included a double and a homer, the rookie is slashing .317/.391/.508 on the season.