Red Sox

Watch: Masataka Yoshida hits first home run for Red Sox as part of three-homer first inning against Pirates

Yoshida was one of three Red Sox to hit a home run in the first inning on Monday.

By Conor Ryan

April 3, 2023

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It didn’t take Masataka Yoshida very long to find the Monster seats at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox outfielder swatted his first big-league home run in the first inning of Monday’s game against the Pirates — tying the game at 3-3 off of an opposite-field, two-run shot.

Yoshida, who batted .308 with four hits, four runs, and three RBI in Boston’s season-opening series against the Orioles, took a high fastball from Johan Oviedo and sliced it out to left field.

The ball — exploding off of Yoshida’s bat with an exit velocity of 104.6 miles per hour — sailed up and landed into the last row of seats of the Green Monster for the equalizer.

Returning back to the dugout, Yoshida flexed with a pair of inflatable dumbbells with his No. 7 jersey number featured on them — a tribute to his “Macho Man” nickname that he cultivated during his time in Japan. 

Yoshida’s round-tripper was one of three that the Sox slugged in the first inning off of Oviedo.

After Sox starter Kutter Crawford relinquished three runs in the top of the first inning, Rafael Devers answered in the bottom of the frame by drilling a pitch into the center-field bleachers for a solo shot.

Yoshida’s two-run blast evened the game up just two batters later, while Triston Casas hooked a hanging slider just beyond the Pesky Pole for a two-run blast later in the inning.

According to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe, Monday marked the third time in the last 15 years that the Red Sox have hit three first-inning home runs. 

After scoring 27 runs in their first three games against the Orioles, it doesn’t seem like the Red Sox’ bats are cooling down any time soon.