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Masataka Yoshida continues to swing his searing bat in the World Baseball Classic.
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The Boston Red Sox slugger has stormed out of Japan. Yoshida opened the WBC with two hits in a mercy-rule victory over Chinese Taipei and hit a three-run homer in Saturday’s 8-6 victory over South Korea.
On Sunday morning, Yoshida had another epic moment to confirm his status as the early MVP of pool play. Trailing Australia 1-0, Yoshida hit a two-run home run off left-hander John F. Kennedy to give Japan the advantage.
Here are the highlights courtesy of the WBC’s official social media pages.
Japan got two insurance runs in the eighth, so the 2023 champions had enough cushion to withstand Australia’s two singles from Alex Hall and Rickson Wingrove in the ninth. The Japanese team won 4-3, avoiding a major upset and extending their record to 3-0.
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Yoshida is currently 5-for-10 with two home runs and six RBIs in WBC games. His power surge is an encouraging sign for the Red Sox, where he hit .266/.307/.388 in a limited role last year while recovering from shoulder surgery.
Japan has already clinched a spot in the knockout rounds, but they will end their group stage against the Czech Republic on Tuesday at 6 a.m. ET on FS1.
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