The phenomenon got his first taste of arguably the biggest rivalry in sports last night, but the flavor wasn't all sweet. Daisuke Matsuzaka had his share of problems handling the Yankee lineup. Still, as disappointed as he was, there was no denying the end result was a good one.
"He gets us into the eighth inning with the lead," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "We'll take that."
The numbers were a little ugly, even though there were flashes of brilliance. Dice-K gave up six runs in seven-plus innings on eight hits and a walk. He struck out seven - five looking.
"I'd put his changeup up there with Pedro's back in Pedro's heyday," Yankee Doug Mientkiewicz said, referring to Pedro Martinez.
Matsuzaka first started paying attention to the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry in 2003 and 2004 when the teams played classic AL Championship Series, and as the day neared for him to become part of the legacy, he grew eager.
"I wanted badly to get my first win at Fenway Park and going against the Yankees - and the fact that my teammates had already beaten them twice - made me want to win even more," he said through an interpreter.
The Bombers didn't exactly bring out the welcome wagon in the first inning. After Bobby Abreu drew a walk and Matsuzaka's strategy to pitch inside to Alex Rodriguez backfired with a hit-by-pitch, Jason Giambi hammered a two-run double.
And Giambi stuck again in the third with a run-scoring single.
"When you're facing such a hot and talented batter, the thing you want to do is pitch inside," Matsuzaka explained about A-Rod. "I was watching the previous two nights. I didn't think we were pitching him too hard inside, so I was very, very conscious of throwing inside."
When the Red Sox turned the game around with four straight homers to take the lead in the third inning, Matsuzaka admitted he could barely contain himself at the sight. But things again turned bad for him when he allowed a run in fifth inning - a Derek Jeter homer - and the sixth, that on a double play ball. He handed a lead to the bullpen thanks to Mike Lowell's three-run homer in the seventh that put Matsuzaka in line to pick up his second win of the year.
"There's no way I could be satisfied after initially allowing three runs," said Matsuzaka, whose next scheduled start comes Friday at Yankee Stadium. "My teammates with the four consecutive home runs took the lead. What I wanted most of all was to hold that lead and I couldn't do that."
"He spots his fastball pretty good and he throws his cutters to both sides of the plate," Mientkiewicz said. "He's got good arm speed on his changeup. I thought we did well seeing the guy for the first time as a group."
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ヤンキースびいきの新聞だけに、ちょっと手厳しいが、最後はしっかりと誉めている。４月２７日夜（日本時間２８日朝）のヤンキースタジアムでのリベンジに、大いに期待。
"He gets us into the eighth inning with the lead," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "We'll take that."
The numbers were a little ugly, even though there were flashes of brilliance. Dice-K gave up six runs in seven-plus innings on eight hits and a walk. He struck out seven - five looking.
"I'd put his changeup up there with Pedro's back in Pedro's heyday," Yankee Doug Mientkiewicz said, referring to Pedro Martinez.
Matsuzaka first started paying attention to the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry in 2003 and 2004 when the teams played classic AL Championship Series, and as the day neared for him to become part of the legacy, he grew eager.
"I wanted badly to get my first win at Fenway Park and going against the Yankees - and the fact that my teammates had already beaten them twice - made me want to win even more," he said through an interpreter.
The Bombers didn't exactly bring out the welcome wagon in the first inning. After Bobby Abreu drew a walk and Matsuzaka's strategy to pitch inside to Alex Rodriguez backfired with a hit-by-pitch, Jason Giambi hammered a two-run double.
And Giambi stuck again in the third with a run-scoring single.
"When you're facing such a hot and talented batter, the thing you want to do is pitch inside," Matsuzaka explained about A-Rod. "I was watching the previous two nights. I didn't think we were pitching him too hard inside, so I was very, very conscious of throwing inside."
When the Red Sox turned the game around with four straight homers to take the lead in the third inning, Matsuzaka admitted he could barely contain himself at the sight. But things again turned bad for him when he allowed a run in fifth inning - a Derek Jeter homer - and the sixth, that on a double play ball. He handed a lead to the bullpen thanks to Mike Lowell's three-run homer in the seventh that put Matsuzaka in line to pick up his second win of the year.
"There's no way I could be satisfied after initially allowing three runs," said Matsuzaka, whose next scheduled start comes Friday at Yankee Stadium. "My teammates with the four consecutive home runs took the lead. What I wanted most of all was to hold that lead and I couldn't do that."
"He spots his fastball pretty good and he throws his cutters to both sides of the plate," Mientkiewicz said. "He's got good arm speed on his changeup. I thought we did well seeing the guy for the first time as a group."
---
ヤンキースびいきの新聞だけに、ちょっと手厳しいが、最後はしっかりと誉めている。４月２７日夜（日本時間２８日朝）のヤンキースタジアムでのリベンジに、大いに期待。