Red Sox DH Masataka Yoshida went 1-for-4 with a single and one run in his first rehab game with Triple-A Worcester on Saturday. Worcester won 8-2 over Rochester at Polar Park.
The Red Sox placed Yoshida on the injured list May 1 with a left thumb strain. He left Boston’s game April 28 after jamming his hand during an at-bat.
He singled (89.4 mph off the bat) in the first inning. He connected on an 80.4 mph curveball from Rochester righty Joan Adon. Yoshida scored when Nick Sogard, the next hitter, blasted a three-run homer.
Red Sox DH Masataka Yoshida in a rehab game for Triple-A Worcester on Saturday
Yoshida grounded out softly (63.8 mph off the bat) to shortstop in the second inning and flied out 311 feet (86.9 mph off the bat) to center field in the fourth inning.
He flied out 272 feet (85.3 mph off the bat) to left field in the fifth inning in his fourth and final at-bat.
Nathan Hickey pinch hit for Yoshida in the seventh inning.
Yoshida was batting .275 with a .348 on-base percentage, .388 slugging percentage, .736 OPS, two home runs, three doubles, 12 runs, 11 RBIs, six walks and 11 strikeouts in 24 games (89 plate appearances) before landing on the IL.
“This is a huge step for us,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Friday. “That bat is really going to help us out. I felt really good about the lineup (Thursday) — splitting up the lefties, (Connor Wong) hitting seventh...it was a really good lineup. With Masa, we’ll make a decision what we do. He could hit second, or hit him fourth and have (Rafael Devers) hitting second again. We’ll get there when we get there. But it’s important for us to get Masa back.
“Obviously we do believe we’re deeper. We’ve got some guys who are stepping up and are playing good baseball. We’ll make sure we mix and match and help everybody out to stay healthy. But I know he’s going to be (a nice addition).”
