Matsuzaka reports all is well

ARLINGTON, Texas -- When Daisuke Matsuzaka walked into the clubhouse yesterday shortly before 4:30 p.m. Central time, arriving on the late bus from the hotel, that was more than fine with his manager. No need for Matsuzaka to get to the ballpark early, not after the stomach ailment that caused him to spend the latter part of Friday night's 10-6 win over Texas in some distress.

"I think [Friday] far surpasses being impressed," Red Sox skipper Terry Francona said. "He had no business being out there, pitching that game. We've all had the flu. You don't want to be pitching, you just want to go get under the covers and be miserable.

"He managed to somehow throw a ball 95 miles an hour in the fifth inning past [Frank ] Catalanotto. That's just willing yourself to do something."

Francona said he anticipated that Matsuzaka would be checked out by the Rangers team doctors, though he didn't think the illness would prevent him from making his next scheduled start, Wednesday against the Indians.

But at the time, not even Francona realized how ill his starter was, at least not until he went to find him after the fifth inning. That was why, even though Kyle Snyder was warmed up, Matsuzaka wasn't removed from the game earlier.

"Actually, I was telling him to go out in the sixth, went down to check on him, and he was bent over," Francona said. "That was good enough for me. Me being the second coming of Casey Stengel, that was all I needed to see. From my baseball viewpoint, bending over was good enough to get him out of there."

After last night's 7-4 win, Francona said Matsuzaka's illness was more likely due to dehydration than the flu or food poisoning.

The illness wasn't the only reason Matsuzaka allowed five runs in his five innings of work, all coming in the fourth.

"I think the fourth inning was more the result of not changing speeds as effectively as he had done," pitching coach John Farrell said. "They jumped on some fastballs early in the count."

And hit them hard. But once he arrived at the park yesterday, Matsuzaka was more focused on improving his health than rehashing his performance. Though he did not answer reporters' questions, he did give media relations staffer Sachiyo Sekiguchi a statement.

"I still haven't figured out exactly what happened last night, but fortunately I feel better today," Matsuzaka said. "I think above all else I need to focus on getting game-ready for my next start. I also feel that I have to be ever-cautious about maintaining my health."

With one more 70-pitch side session yesterday, Josh Beckett pronounced himself ready to go Tuesday against the Indians.

"I didn't give up any hits," he said. "It went good. I think this was pretty much the last hurdle, just getting through another week of throwing. Barring some slip or something, falling on some glass, I think we should be OK."

Beckett said he threw yesterday with a bandage on, to protect the right middle finger on which he suffered the avulsion that landed him on the disabled list. He did long toss the day before without it, and will long toss again today without it. He said he likely will throw tomorrow without the bandage, as well.

"Obviously, we want to be smart with this thing," Beckett said. "It's made it a lot easier with us winning. Those are the times when it's rough, whenever a team's struggling and there's nothing you can do to help them. We're going to be smart but, yeah, I'm definitely ready to get back out there, start pitching.

"Plus, I think I'm driving a few guys crazy. Like my pitching coach. Too much downtime."

Julio Lugo leads all of baseball with 29 RBIs from the leadoff spot. Curtis Granderson of Detroit and Kelly Johnson of Atlanta each have 26. And the Sox shortstop has done it with a .231 batting average. "Evidently the hits he's getting he's making the most [out of]," Francona said. "He looks to me like he's going to be kind of streaky. As talented as he is, I think the good streaks will certainly outweigh the bad. In the meantime, you look at his production; [it] has been incredible. That's good. It means we're turning the order over to get to him." . . . Kevin Youkilis extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a fourth-inning double to left field. He is hitting .443 during the streak . . . Manny Ramírez's sixth-inning triple was the 17th of his career . . . J.D. Drew continued slumping at the plate, though he managed to reach base five times, three on walks, twice on fielder's choices. Drew has not had a base hit since May 20, a span of 16 at-bats . . . Mike Timlin should pitch again today for Pawtucket in his rehab stint. He's coming back from shoulder tendinitis that put him on the disabled list May 3. "He said he felt real good, command was pretty good, no discomfort," Francona said. "Those were his words." Though Timlin made an error and walked a batter on four pitches to start the inning, he came back to finish a scoreless frame on 16 pitches. He was not scheduled to pitch yesterday . . . The Red Sox have won their last 32 games when scoring at least five runs, their longest such streak since doing it 31 consecutive times in 1949 . . . Pete Despain, the cancer patient who inspired Curt Schilling to mark his shoes with "For Pete's Sake," was at last night's game. He was, coincidentally, sitting in Section 38.

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