When the Boston Red Sox signed left fielder Masataka Yoshida to a five-year, $90 million deal this offseason, few expected him to put his name on a list with Ted Williams.
But he did just that.
Yoshida is Boston's first left-handed hitter to string together eight straight multi-hit games since Williams accomplished the feat in 1940. He will try to keep the hits coming on Saturday when the Red Sox play the second game of a three-game set against the host Chicago Cubs.
During his impressive run, Yoshida has gone 17-for-34 (.500) with two homers, five RBIs and eight runs. He went 2-for-5 on Friday, helping the Red Sox pick up an 8-3 victory over Chicago in the series opener.
It wasn't just Yoshida powering Boston to its sixth straight win, though, as the Red Sox clubbed a season-high six homers. Rafael Devers hit a pair of solo shots, while Adam Duvall, Triston Casas, Justin Turner and Yu Chang also went deep.
"We're gonna hit, we know that. It's just a matter of staying with an approach," Boston manager Alex Cora said. "We're playing good baseball right now. It's a good brand of baseball, it's fun, and hopefully we can continue (Saturday)."
Left-hander James Paxton (5-1, 2.73 ERA) will hope the lineup can produce similar results on Saturday when he makes his 11th start of the season.
Paxton has been stellar over his past seven outings, going 4-0 with a 1.93 ERA.
In his most recent start, Paxton allowed two runs on six hits in six innings during a victory against the Oakland Athletics on July 8. He walked one and struck out three.
Paxton has never faced the Cubs.
Right-hander Marcus Stroman (9-6, 2.96 ERA) will get the nod for Chicago as he attempts to get back on track.
Through his first 16 starts this season, Stroman went 9-4 with a 2.28 ERA. In three outings since then, he is 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA, most recently surrendering four runs on four hits in five innings against the Milwaukee Brewers on July 6.
Due to his recent struggles, Stroman opted to sit out of Tuesday's All-Star Game and focus on getting ready for the second half of the season.
"It's been a huge process," Stroman said. "I'm very thankful for everybody who's helped me get to this point. I'm definitely looking forward to having a little bit of a break -- kind of just reset my energy, clear my mind and have a good second half."
Stroman will be presented with a good opportunity to find his early-season form on Saturday, as the right-hander is 6-4 with a 3.65 ERA in 15 career starts against the Red Sox.
Although the Cubs have alternated wins and losses over their past six games, center fielder Cody Bellinger has been a beacon of consistency. He has hit safely in 15 of his last 16 games, going 26-for-59 (.441) with four homers, nine RBIs and 15 runs during that span.
Bellinger accounted for most of Chicago's offense during the loss on Friday, smacking two solo home runs.
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