Masataka Yoshida belted his 10th home run in his seventh straight multiple-hit game to lift the Boston Red Sox past the Oakland Athletics 4-3 on Sunday, helping his team win its fifth straight.
Batting fifth as the designated hitter, Yoshida connected on a high, 1-2 four-seamer from Ken Waldichuk (2-6) for an opposite-field solo shot in the eighth inning that cleared the Green Monster at Fenway Park.
"I didn't think it was going to be a home run," said Yoshida, who also singled, stole a base and scored to tie the game at 3-3 on Christian Arroyo's double in the sixth.
Heading into the All-Star break, Yoshida has batted a team-high .316 in his rookie year in the big leagues.
"I'll try to stay injury-free and keep playing until the end of the season," the former Orix Buffaloes star said.
The Athletics' Shintaro Fujinami retired the two batters he faced in the eighth. The former Hanshin Tigers flamethrower, also in his first MLB season, has not allowed a run in his last sixth outings as he continues to excel following a switch to reliever from starter.
Seiya Suzuki had his first home run for the Chicago Cubs since May 23, his seventh this season, as they beat the New York Yankees 7-4.
Suzuki pulled Domingo German's 1-2 curveball to left for a solo shot at Yankee Stadium to tie the game at 1-1, and his bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the eighth plated the go-ahead run for a 5-4 lead.