| 03 June 2009
Daisuke Matsuzaka did what he does best last night:
a) Throw 96 pitches and only make it through five innings...
b) Walk three batters, but also strike out six batters...
c) Somehow manage to allow a baserunner in every inning and still only give up one run...
d) Leave after five innings in the first game of the series and force the bullpen to be overworked right of the gate...
e) Frustrate the hell out of me, most of Red Sox Nation ... and the Tigers (23 LOBs).
Matsuzaka won 18 games last season, despite only getting into the 7th inning nine time in 29 starts... last night's 5-1 victory was simply more of the same, though it was encouraging to see him get his first win of the season.
"For a starting pitcher, getting that first win is important - it feels like the beginning of the season," said Matsuzaka.
We're all hoping that this game helps Dice-K turn the corner, but he has yet to go longer than five innings in a start this season. The Red Sox have the best bullpen in baseball, but that won't last if Matsuzaka and the rest of the starts can't get deeper into games.
Thankfully, Jason Bay also did what he doesn best last night... hit 2-run homers. Bay hit his 12th multi-run ding dong of the season in the third and 16th overall. The newly structured lineup also produced it's second win, but Francona says this isn't necessarlity the lineup he'll use all season:
"When I look at it for like the 80th time, it seems like we have more balance right now," said Francona. "Do I envision this being our batting order for the whole year? Nah, probably not."
Bottom Line: The Red Sox were visited by a squirrel during the early part of last night's game. Squirrels sybmbolize many trust and dedication is many cultures... Tito earned his 500th win as a manager of the Red Sox last night.
Therefore... in Tito we trust.
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