Masataka Yoshida (Boston Red Sox) had a multi-hit game. The batting title race is fierce.

Yoshida went 2-for-4 at the plate in the No. 4 spot in the order against the Oakland Athletics at Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California, USA, on April 19. Despite the team’s 0-3 loss, he showed good at-bats.메이저놀이터

Yoshida, who also had a hit in the previous day’s game, led off the second inning with a double off Luis Medina’s 95.8 mph (about 154 km/h) sinker. He later advanced to third on a wild pitch with runners on first and second, but was unable to score as no one followed up.

Yoshida continued his hot hitting in the top of the fourth inning, trailing 0-3. With the bases loaded, he took advantage of Medina’s 94.7 mph (152 km/h) four-seam fastball and stole second again. This time, however, he was unable to capitalize, as Rob Lefsnider and Tristan Casas were retired on strikes.

Yoshida was unable to add another hit in his next two at-bats, retiring on a grounder to third base and a fly ball to center field, respectively.

With the multi-hit game, Yoshida raised his batting average to .318. He is now third in the American League in batting average. First place Bo Bissett (Toronto Blue Jays) and second place Yandy Diaz (Tampa Bay Rays) are both at .318. However, when you look at their batting averages to the fourth decimal place, Bissett is at 0.3184, Diaz is at 0.3180, and Yoshida is at 0.3179. The three players are in a tight race for the batting title.

Yoshida applied for the post ahead of this season. He signed a five-year, $90 million contract with Boston to join the major leagues.

Yoshida had an adjustment period through April. He was batting .276. Since then, he’s been hitting better and is currently batting .318. In particular, he’s been on fire in July, batting .417 with 20 hits in 11 games.

Yoshida is on pace to become just the third Japanese hitter ever to reach triple digits in the major leagues. Ichiro Suzuki, who played for the Seattle Mariners, hit in the triple digits for 10 consecutive seasons starting in his rookie year. Hideki Matsui, who played for the New York Yankees, followed with a .305 average in 2005. It will be interesting to see if Yoshida can join them.