Masataka Yoshida becomes the fourth rookie to hit two home runs in an inning

Boston Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida of Fukui, Japan had an inning for the ages on Sunday. In the eighth inning at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, Yoshida became the fourth rookie and first Japanese player ever to hit two Major League Baseball home runs in an inning. He accomplished that feat in a 12-5 Red Sox win over the Milwaukee Brewers. With the win, the Red Sox improved to a record of 12 wins and 11 losses.

First Home Run

Yoshida’s first home run of the inning broke a 4-4 tie and actually put the Red Sox up 5-4. It was the second of back-to-back home runs, as Red Sox third baseman Justin Turner of Long Beach, California led off the inning with a home run to tie the game at four. The solo shot by Yoshida came with zero out, was 374 feet to right field, and came off Brewers relief pitcher Matt Bush of San Diego, California.

Second Home Run

Yoshida’s second home run was a grand slam and put the Red Sox up 12-4. He scored Turner, Red Sox shortstop Yu Chang of Taitung County, Taiwan, and Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers of Sanchez, Dominican Republic. The four-run shot was 407 feet off Brewers relief pitcher Javy Guerra of David, Panama.

Who were the other three rookies with two home runs in an inning?

The other three rookies to hit two home runs in one inning were Ed Cartwright of the St. Louis Browns, Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees, and Joe Pepitone of the Yankees. Cartwright of Johnstown, Pennsylvania hit two third inning dingers in a 21-2 Browns win over the Philadelphia Athletics on September 23, 1890. DiMaggio of Martinez, California had two fifth inning home runs in an 18-11 Yankees win over the Chicago White Sox on June 24, 1936, and Pepitone had two eighth inning home runs in a 13-7 Yankees win over the Kansas City Royals on May 23, 1962.