Not exactly. Now Matsui is 36, has undergone two knee surgeries, and will be a free agent once this season is over. This World Series could represent his final chance.

“That was really my only goal, to win a championship,’’ he said through a translator. “Everything else was just part of that.’’

Matsui greatly improved his odds last night, giving the Yankees their first lead of the World Series with a solo home run off Philadelphia starter Pedro Martinez in the sixth inning of Game 2. The Yankees went on to a 3-1 victory.

“Winning [last night’s] game was very important for us,’’ Matsui said. “We didn’t want to be down two games going to Philadelphia. This adds to the confidence that we have.’’

After Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez struck out to open the sixth, Matsui looked at two fastballs for strikes, then laid off a Martinez changeup that was out of the strike zone.

Martinez then changed tactics again, hoping to get Matsui to chase a pitch.

“He threw me two curveballs. The second one was pretty low and a little bit inside but I was able to make a good adjustment and put a pretty good swing on it,’’ said Matsui, who lifted the pitch over the short porch in right field.

“I was disappointed,’’ Martinez said. “Maybe the pitch wasn’t the one I would probably have chosen if I was to think again. But I was just in a groove and pitching and throwing strikes and just flipped a curveball there. Kind of paid for it.’’

Matsui was 4 for 28 against Martinez in regular-season games with one RBI. With Jose Molina in the lineup as the personal catcher to A.J. Burnett, the Yankees had the option of using Jorge Posada as the designated hitter.

But manager Joe Girardi stuck with Matsui, who was 2 for 2 with a walk against Martinez last night. Matsui is 7 for 17 against Martinez in the playoffs.

“I don’t know why that is,’’ Matsui said. “The atmosphere is different in the postseason but I try to be the same.’’

For six seasons, that has been Matsui’s strength as a player: his unyielding consistency.

“Matsui’s a professional,’’ Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter said. “He comes ready to play every day. He can hit home runs, he hits the ball the other way; he’s great with guys on base. He comes to play. He wants to win. He’s been one of my favorite teammates.’’

Matsui’s reward will probably be a seat on the bench for the next three games when the World Series shifts to Philadelphia. With no designated hitter in games played at the National League park, Matsui will be limited to pinch-hitting duties. He has not played the outfield since June 15, 2008, because of sore knees that have since required surgery.

“That’s something we’re going to have to talk about,’’ said Girardi, who admitted a few weeks ago that he came close to using Matsui in the field during an interleague game in Atlanta in June. “We’ll see how he’s doing. We’ll have to see. We’ll make a decision when we get there. We have all day to think about it. That’s the one thing about playoff baseball, you get a lot of time to think about things.’’

Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com.