The baseball world can’t help but notice what Triston Casas is doing in Japan.
The Boston Red Sox prospect and Team USA first baseman hit his third home run of the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday. Casas’ latest bomb gave the U.S. an early lead over the Dominican Republic in a game it would go on to win 3-1, preserving its hopes of winning the gold medal.
Casas plays domestically for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs and he hit this home run off a familiar face: Sea Dogs and Dominican Republic pitcher Denyi Reyes.
“I have one career at-bat off of him in spring training, and I hit a home run over the batter’s eye, as well,” Casas said after the game, per The Associated Press’ Ronald Blum. “So 2-for-2 with a walk.”
Team USA will face South Korea on Thursday for the right to advance to the gold medal game. The USA-South Korea winner will face Japan on Saturday, while the loser will take on the Dominican Republic on Friday for the bronze medal.
Casas is tied for the Tokyo Olympics lead with three home runs, and his eight RBIs are the most at the Games. However, those gaudy stats don’t concern him.
“At the end of the tournament, nobody’s going to remember really how many home runs I hit or how many runs I drive in,” he said, per Blum. “It’s just whether we came home with that gold.”
