He's taking a big turn

Matsuzaka driven by assignment

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Although he wasn't at his best during his start in Game 2 of the Division Series against the Angels, Daisuke Matsuzaka hopes to give the Red Sox the upper hand tonight against the Rays in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series at Tropicana Field.

"For me, Game 1 and 2 have the same importance, and it's a big responsibility being the Game 2 pitcher," Matsuzaka said yesterday through interpreter Masa Hoshino. "But being trusted to take the ball in Game 1 is something that I'm pretty happy about."

Normally that role would be reserved for Josh Beckett, but a strained oblique altered Beckett's place in the rotation. The title of postseason ace has been passed to Jon Lester, who won Game 1 of the ALDS in dominant fashion and pitched seven scoreless innings in Game 4.

Tonight, however, it'll be up to Matsuzaka to set the tone against a Tampa Bay lineup he has faced eight times over the last two seasons, compiling a 2-3 record and 3.75 ERA (20 earned runs in 48 innings).

"Yes, I've faced this team many times," said Matsuzaka, who is 1-0 with a 4.15 ERA in his last four starts against the Rays, going just five innings in each of his last three meetings. "But it's hard to refer back to last year because I've also changed as a pitcher."

Winner of a career-high 18 games this season, Matsuzaka became an even craftier pitcher by mixing all his pitches better to keep batters off balance. Matsuzaka led major league starters with a .211 opponents' batting average, and went 9-0 with a 2.37 ERA in 13 road starts.

According to a former teammate of Matsuzaka, the Rays have a plan for Game 1.

"Just be patient," said Eric Hinske, who spent last season with the Sox and signed a minor league deal with Tampa Bay in February. "Sometimes he only goes five innings and he goes 110 pitches in five innings. We're not going to wait him out or anything like that, but you definitely have to be patient in the zone - aggressively patient in the zone is the secret to him because he throws so many different pitches.

"You don't want to get to two strikes early against him," Hinske cautioned, "because he has a lot of out pitches."

In his ALDS start against the Angels, Matsuzaka threw first-strike pitches to the first seven batters he faced. But he did not factor in the decision after turning over a 5-3 lead to the bullpen, finished after throwing 108 pitches over five innings. He allowed eight hits and three walks to go with five strikeouts.

"It's true for any pitcher, but getting that first-pitch strike puts you at a big advantage for that at-bat," Matsuzaka said. "But I wouldn't say that being able to get that first-pitch strike boosts my confidence in any way.

"And on the other hand, just because I couldn't get the first-pitch strike, it doesn't cause any anxiety on my part."

But it might for the batter, who must walk a fine line between being patient and being "aggressively patient."

"Yeah, you can go up there and say that you're going to take a strike and then he throws two fastballs down the middle and now you're down, 0-2, so it can backfire on you," Hinske said. "I think our guys have done a good job of having a good team approach all year, no matter who's on the mound, just trying to see a lot of pitches and trying to get on base and putting pressure on the other team.

"We got a lot of team speed, so [manager] Joe [Maddon] always preaches, get on base, steal some bases, and put some pressure on the pitcher, for sure."

That, however, might be easier said than done against the unflappable Matsuzaka.

"He finds a way," said Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. "That's his thing. He gets a couple guys on base, he finds a way to shut teams down. It's hard to do, but he certainly has that knack for getting in that pressure situation and finding a way to get out of it."

Said Sox manager Terry Francona, "He's been able to, more often than not, when he's pitched behind and walked and put runners on base, he hasn't given up a lot of hits. There's been a couple of different formulas for winning, and they've been different. But the final result is that he's won a heck of a lot more than he's lost."