BOSTON ––
About every time Daisuke Matsuzaka's back is against the wall, he responds with
a rare gem.
On Monday,
it was quite the stellar start. Making his first appearance for the Red Sox
since July 2 and sixth outing of the season, Matsuzaka flummoxed the Royals
lineup en route to leading the team to a 5-1 victory.
"When
I returned back in June and I didn't get the results I wanted to, I thought for
a moment I wouldn't be able to pitch a game like today again this season,"
Matsuzaka said, through an interpreter.
"I
got back to my rehab, and my last two rehab starts in Pawtucket went really
well and felt really good. I knew if I was able to pitch like that up here, the
results would come. My body right now feels a lot better than it did before I
had Tommy John and my body definitely feels better than it did back in June."
Through
seven innings, Matsuzaka allowed one run –– which was unearned –– on five hats
while fanning six. By mowing down the lineup with ease, the pitcher snapped a
six start winless drought and claimed his first 'W' since May 8, 2011.
It was the
type of performance the Red Sox anticipated when Matsuzaka returned to mound
after Tommy John surgery on June 9. But in five starts, he wound up going 0-3
with a 6.65 ERA before landing on the disabled list again with neck discomfort.
Those close
to him believe the trapezius issue was a byproduct of the pitching alterations
he made after Tommy John surgery. Whatever adjustments Matsuzaka made in
Triple-A, it certainly enthralled Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine.
"Saw
a good pitcher who used all his pitches," Valentine said. "I thought
the two-ball, one-strike count changed the game around about five times where
he was able to throw his breaking ball for a strike. I thought he had good
control of his cutter on the outside part to right-handers. Got hit a couple
times backdoor to left-handers. He gave us what we needed. 100 pitches, seven
innings, five hits — it's a good outing."
It
also had a historical ramification. With the victory, Matsuzaka notched his
50th career win in the majors, joining fellow countrymen Hideo Nomo (123),
Hiroki Kuroda (53) and Tomo Ohka (51) in that company.
But
Matsuzaka needed to be patient to cross that plateau. After all, the
31-year-old admitted to feeling discouraged when he wasn't tallying the results
he had hoped back in June and July.
"Dice threw the ball
well," catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia said. "Everything was real
sharp. He had great command. He’s been coming back from surgery so it’s going
to be a process of getting that feeling back and getting your sharpness back
and everything feeling good."
It came at the right time for
the Red Sox.
Have a question for
Didier Morais? Send it to him via Twitter at @DidierMorais or send it here. He will pick a few
questions to answer every week for his mailbag.
