Another outing of great import

NEW YORK -- If performance against the Yankees is a barometer of success for each Red Sox player -- from the ace down to the last man off the bench -- then an amazing thing has taken place. Hideki Okajima has become more valuable, or at least has pitched better, than his more heralded countryman, Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Don't even try to compare his numbers to Matsuzaka's -- because it's impossible to liken a reliever and a starter. Besides, the more apt comparison is to a pitcher who barely seemed to have an equal in history last season: Jonathan Papelbon.

Both have been nearly unhittable. And other than a first-pitch home run to John Buck in Kansas City that Okajima watched fly over his head, neither has given up a single run in the first month of the season. Now, that's pretty impressive.

"To me, he's their MVP right now," said Doug Mientkiewicz, who didn't get to face Okajima after Josh Phelps pinch hit for him in the seventh in the 7-4 Yankees loss yesterday. "It seems like every game we've played with them, every time he's come in the game, it's given them a chance to change the momentum.

"He's different. He's got a really good angle on his ball. He's got a lot of pitches. Something we don't see that often. Him being a reliever, it's tough because you only get to see him one time a game."

Told of Mientkiewicz's comments, crimson came to Okajima's cheeks. He laughed.

"It's still the very beginning of the season," Okajima said through his translator. "If I heard that at the end of the season, I would be very, very happy to hear that. But I will stay humble and I will keep working hard to continue the success."

Coming on in relief of a steady Julian Tavarez, Okajima served as a bridge to Mike Timlin -- reinstated into his traditional eighth-inning role because of matchups at the top of the Yankees' order -- and Papelbon. No longer considered anything close to a lefty vs. lefty specialist, Okajima pitched the sixth and seventh, allowing just one hit (a single to Alex Rodriguez) and striking out four (Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, Jorge Posada, and Phelps).

The outing brought his ERA down to a minuscule 0.71 from 0.84 and extended his scoreless innings streak to 12 over 12 appearances. In that span, he has allowed just three hits. And it's not like Okajima has been getting wimpy outs. No, he's been fooling batters, getting 15 of his last 26 outs on strikeouts.

Plus -- and this has not been overlooked by Sox fans -- virtually all of his most notable appearances have been against the Yankees, though he said his success against the New Yorkers has not meant any more to him than his success against, say, the Orioles. Still, against the Yankees, his stats include five innings, three hits, and seven strikeouts. Oh, and one huge save.

At the same time, as Okajima alluded, there's a lot of season left. Perhaps the deception that seems to go with his delivery, which Rodriguez also cited yesterday, will go away. That, after all, is the kind of thing to which major league hitters can adjust.

"He's been terrific," manager Terry Francona said. "That's stating the obvious . . . He's been commanding better and better his fastball as he goes. He's got a ton of confidence in his changeup and now his breaking ball's starting to emerge as the weather warms up a bit. He's got three good pitches. Again, there's going to be a time when he's going to leave a fastball over the plate and somebody's going to hit it, because he doesn't throw 95 and his fastball can be straight."

So, as his impressive performances have mounted, he was asked if he had anticipated these results.

"No, I didn't expect [it to be] like this," he said.

Then, when asked why it was like this, his first reaction -- before he went back and added that "physically and mentally I am preparing myself well enough to be successful" -- was to shrug. His answer?

"I don't know."

Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com.