Boston Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida wasted little time extending his majors-leading hitting streak to 14 games on Thursday night against the Toronto Blue Jays. Indeed, Yoshida jumped on an offering from Kevin Gausman in the bottom of the first, sending it into the Fenway Park bullpens to give Boston an early 1-0 lead (GameTracker):
MASHataka. pic.twitter.com/eiDxqJysKu
— Red Sox (@RedSox) May 4, 2023
According to Statcast, Yoshida's blast traveled 400 feet and left the bat with an exit velocity of 101.6 mph. It marked the fifth home run during his hitting streak, as well as the 16th run batted in. Yoshida is now hitting .310/.397/.550 with six home runs and 22 runs batted in over the course of his first 116 trips to the plate.
Yoshida's hitting streak represents a radical turnaround given how he struggled in the early going. CBS Sports wrote about his woes in the middle of April, noting that he was showing a good eye but needed to improve his quality of contact:
Yoshida's average launch angle so far is roughly minus-8 degrees, or the lowest among qualified hitters. What's more is that only 15% of Yoshida's batted balls have had a launch angle between 10 and 30 degrees. The league-average mark is 31%. Mind you, a higher launch angle is not always better. But, just as you don't want your batters hitting the ball straight up into the air, you also don't want them wearing out the dirt in front of the plate.
Sure enough, including Thursday's homer, Yoshida's seasonal marks now include an average launch angle of 1.6 degrees and 23.6% batted balls between 10 and 30 degrees.
The Red Sox signed Yoshida, 29, to a surprising five-year deal worth $90 million over the offseason. The contract was met with skepticism around the league, as many evaluators believed in Yoshida's contact and on-base chops, but questioned if his power would port to the majors.
