The Boston Red Sox will play their second game of a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins tonight after having won the first game of the series last night on a walk-off win hit by Alex Verdugo that just stayed fair and hit the wall to drive in the winning run and give the Red Sox a 5-4 win.
Masataka Yoshida Curse
To this point in the season, Masataka Yoshida is eight for 58 with a slash line of .167/.310/.250; he also has just one home run and six runs batted in. Red Sox fans were expecting the player they saw in the World Baseball Classic that dominated the tournament going nine for 22 in seven games for team Japan. He would have a slash line of .409/.531/.727; he would also hit two home runs and drive in 13 runs. This season for the Red Sox; after the first four games of the season, Yoshida seemed as advertised, going five for 17 with a home run and five RBI. He hit his first home run in the fourth game against the Pirates, and as tradition, the fan usually trades something for the ball so the player who hit it can have their first home run ball to keep. That night on April 3rd, things went a little differently as the fan kept the ball and left the game with it, and they still have the ball. Since that game ended, Yoshida has played nine games. He is three for 31, does not have a home run, and has only driven in one run; he has also been dealing with a hamstring issue that has caused him to half the Tampa Bay series and half the Angels series. So this now brings up the question: Did Masataka Yoshida not get his first career Major League Baseball home run ball back part of the issue with his recent struggles?
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