Reliever's been lighting it up

Daisuke Matsuzaka is the Monster. Hideki Matsui is Godzilla. And what about Hideki Okajima?

A reader (and baseball blogger) named Peter Naboicheck of Farmington, Conn., has taken to calling Okajima "Darkman," a comic-book creation played in the 1990 movie version by actor Liam Neeson. Naboicheck is riffing off Okajima's spring training utterance in which he said of pitching in Matsuzaka's shadow, "I am willing to be a hero in the dark."

The nickname may not stick, but Naboicheck may be onto something. Okajima has to rank as the revelation of the team's first month. Coming into the season, the 31-year-old lefthanded reliever's greatest value to the Sox, according to the wise guys, was to keep Matsuzaka company. He did little to disavow that notion when he gave up a home run on the first pitch he threw for the Sox, to John Buck of the Royals on Opening Day, but since then he has become an unexpected star of the bullpen.

Okajima entered yesterday's game with seven scoreless innings over his last seven appearances. He recorded his first major league save Friday night, when he challenged Alex Rodriguez with fastballs in the ninth inning and retired him with a full-count cutter that resulted in a soft liner to second.

Yesterday afternoon, with the tying runs on base in the seventh, Okajima struck out strongman Jason Giambi to end the inning, then got Robinson Cano to ground to second to begin the eighth, before being replaced by Mike Timlin.

Okajima, who in 11 seasons in Japan totaled 41 saves -- 25 in one season, the other 16 over three others -- said after Friday's game he was surprised to receive the summons from manager Terry Francona, who wasn't going to use Jonathan Papelbon a third straight day.

Yesterday, Francona was asked whether he'd given Okajima a heads-up.

"I think we told him before the game," Francona said, "but you know, I'm not sure. Sometimes things get lost in translation. There were a lot of nods; I'm not sure."

Told that Okajima said he was surprised, Francona said, "Maybe he was."

The communication lapses should not surprise anyone, Francona said. "I'm adjusting to the culture myself," he said.

"They're very different, as everybody is," Francona said of Okajima and Matsuzaka, who is five years younger. "We don't need them to mirror each other. The majority of the media is following Daisuke.

"Hideki, you see him, he's quieter. His personality . . . it's been a little tougher to communicate with him. I think he's a little more cautious. That's OK."

Okajima had retired 15 successive batters before walking Bobby Abreu with one out in the ninth Friday night. He won his duel with Rodriguez, then struck out Kevin Thompson to end the game. Eight of Okajima's last 13 outs have come on strikeouts.

Reporters who covered Okajima in Japan said he is throwing far more changeups and cutters here than he did in Japan, where his out pitch was the classic 12-to-6 curveball. He said that in some of his outings this spring, the cold has made the curve a tougher pitch to grip.

Getting the save in his debut in the Sox-Yankees series, he said in a postgame TV interview on Japanese network NHK, was "like winning the pennant."

"We were almost laughing," Francona said. "Pap wasn't there, so the next best thing is for us to win another way. And if you can do that, that makes your club better.

"When I went to bring in Hideki, [Mike ] Lowell looked at me and said, 'Who's coming in?' I told him, 'Okajima.' He said, 'What's wrong with Pap?' I said, 'I didn't want to bring him in.' [Lowell] starts laughing.

"You can either win or lose. It'd be good to win, but if you're not afraid to have confidence in other people, it can only help."

Rookie second baseman Dustin Pedroia, mired in a 1-for-28 slump (.036) and hitless in his last 13 at-bats, went to the bench yesterday. Alex Cora, with game-winning hits in each of the last two contests, including Friday night's flare off Mariano Rivera after he'd entered as a defensive replacement, made his third start at second base. He bunted for a hit and scored in his first at-bat yesterday, then bunted again to set up another run in the fourth.

"I think it's human nature," Francona said when asked if he thought Pedroia was pressing. "We all do, or did. When it starts hurting your at-bats, you have to find a way to channel that into a positive, and it's hard to do. You see guys starting to stride too far, swing too hard. We've all done it.

"He has to get through it. He knows he has our support. He's worked hard. He's got a lot of things in his favor. He's just having a tough time right now. The biggest thing is consistency. If you hit enough balls hard, you'll find holes."

Center fielder Johnny Damon (hamstring, back) and catcher Jorge Posada (bruised thumb) did not start for the Yankees, although Damon pinch hit to start the ninth and grounded to shortstop. Torre said after the game that Posada would not be available tonight, while he'd have to wait and see on Damon . . . Carlton Fisk was at the park, as was Senator John Kerry . . . Sox publicist John Blake said Friday night's game, in which the Sox wore green to honor the Celtics, is believed to be the first time the Sox have worn home jerseys with the players' names on the back . . . The Sox intend to celebrate Jackie Robinson Day tonight, as ceremonies were rained out last Sunday. Coco Crisp, David Ortiz, and third base coach DeMarlo Hale all plan to wear Robinson's No. 42 . . . Ortiz's fourth-inning home run was his 179th as a member of the Red Sox. He ranks 10th on the team list, with one more than Nomar Garciaparra.