Masataka Yoshida was already heating up at the plate entering Sunday's series finale against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Then he went scorched earth.
The Boston Red Sox outfielder had an inning for the record books at American Family Field, launching two home runs in the eighth frame alone -- a solo shot that broke a 4-4 tie and a grand slam that broke the game open en route to his team's 12-5 victory in Milwaukee.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Yoshida, who added a sacrifice fly to finish 2-for-4 with six RBIs and two runs scored, is the first Red Sox player to launch two homers in the same inning since Hall of Famer David Ortiz in 2008.
In fact, Yoshida is only the fifth Red Sox player ever to hit a pair of dingers in the same inning.
While that's some great company to keep, the more important development here is that Yoshida is finding his stride offensively. The Japan native went hitless in four games last week and was batting .167 as of April 18; since then, he's amassed seven hits and nine RBIs over his last four contests.
The transition from Japan to Major League Baseball was always going to be difficult for Yoshida, but this is a player who mashed 133 homers over seven seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball league, and he flashed that power Sunday.