News
Dice-K earns first 'W' as Sox beat Tigers
Francona wins No. 500 with Boston; Bay homers
By Ian Browne / MLB.com
06/03/09 12:22 AM ET
DETROIT -- The artistry again lacking for Daisuke Matsuzaka on Tuesday night at Comerica Park, the right-hander did accomplish his basic mission, which was to win.It had been a long time coming for Dice-K, who, in helping the Red Sox to a 5-1 victory over the Tigers, earned his first regular-season victory since Sept. 21, 2008.
Of course, the drought had something to do with Matsuzaka being on the disabled list (right shoulder strain) for five weeks. But there was also the fact that he hadn't pitched particularly well in his first four starts of 2009.
In this one, Matsuzaka grinded through and minimized the damage, allowing six hits and a run over five innings. He walked three, struck out six and threw 96 pitches.
"For a starting pitcher, getting that first win is so important, because it kind of marks the start of the season in a way," Matsuzaka said through interpreter Masa Hoshino. "I was finally able to get my first win today, and I'm finally able to feel like I can get the season going."
It was skipper Terry Francona's 500th win with the Red Sox, making him the third manager in club history to achieve that mark. The two others? Joe Cronin (1,071) and Mike Higgins (560).
"From a personal standpoint, I guess it's a little anti-climactic," said Francona. "I thought it was about three weeks ago. That's how much I've been paying attention to that. As far as winning tonight, that's what I really care about."
With Francona again deploying a revamped lineup that had Dustin Pedroia leading off, J.D. Drew batting second and Jacoby Ellsbury hitting eighth, the offense chipped away, taking a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth.
As it turns out, the cushion was nice to have for Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, who loaded the bases with nobody out in a non-save situation that suddenly turned very strenuous.
But Papelbon has displayed a knack this season for getting into a jam and then getting out of it in overpowering fashion. He did it again, striking out Josh Anderson in an 11-pitch at-bat that included nine foul balls, and then finishing the Tigers off with two more punchouts.
"Anderson had a great at-bat," Francona said. "To Pap's credit, he made some great pitches. It was a long, tough inning. Especially under the circumstances. We got a lot of good pitching tonight."
Before the Red Sox got to Papelbon, they got bullpen brilliance from Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima and Ramon Ramirez, who combined to retire nine Detroit hitters in a row.
There was some amusement throughout the night from a squirrel that hovered around the outfield during multiple appearances, and roamed all around the field.
Francona and several Red Sox players told Pedroia the squirrel had a strong resemblance to the little second baseman.
500 club | ||||
| With Boston's 5-1 win vs. Detroit on Tuesday, Red Sox manager Terry Francona became the seventh active manager with at least 500 wins for his current club. | ||||
W-L | Pct. | Manager | Club | Years |
| 1998-1587 | .557 | Bobby Cox | Braves | 1978-81, 1990-2009 |
| 1171-984 | .543 | Tony LaRussa | Cardinals | 1996-2009 |
| 828-680 | .549 | Mike Scioscia | Angels | 2000-09 |
| 764-697 | .523 | Cito Gaston | Blue Jays | 1989-97, 2008-09 |
| 648-539 | .546 | Ron Gardenhire | Twins | 2002-09 |
| 518-507 | .505 | Eric Wedge | Indians | 2003-09 |
| 500-362 | .580 | Terry Francona | Red Sox | 2004-009 |
"That was pretty funny," Pedroia said. "I've never seen a squirrel running around. I got made fun of pretty much half the game. That was pretty much a distraction the whole night for me."
It didn't take away from his hitting, though.
Pedroia led off the game with a double to left, and Drew promptly drove him in with an RBI single to center.
"We mixed it up a little bit and got some runs across, won a couple of ballgames with it," said Drew of the new lineup. "It seems to work. We've gotten a couple of big wins out of it so it's worked well."
The Tigers got the run right back against Matsuzaka on an RBI single to left by Miguel Cabrera.
Jason Bay snapped that tie in the third, unloading for home run No. 16 of the season, a two-run shot to left.
"Again, J-Bay gets one pitch," Francona said. "He's so dangerous. They made some pitches, and then all of a sudden there's a ball that's up in the zone, and he just crushes it."
Boston added on in the sixth, when Tigers reliever Ryan Perry had a control meltdown. The righty's third walk of the inning -- delivered to Pedroia -- forced in a run. Making matters worse for the Tigers, Brandon Lyon hit Kevin Youkilis with the bases loaded to make it 5-1.
Although the Tigers had at least one baserunner in all five innings against Matsuzaka, they couldn't convert.
That fifth was the most frustrating for Matsuzaka in that he opened it by walking Gerald Laird and Ramon Santiago, the Nos. 8 and 9 hitters for Detroit. Although Dice-K did his usual escape act, ending his night by striking out Magglio Ordonez on a filthy pitch, he knows that the temporary loss of control cost him another inning of work.
"If I was able to get through the bottom part of that order with fewer pitches, I think I would have been able to come back for the sixth inning," Matsuzaka said.
But the Red Sox have come to live with his laborious evenings, especially when they result in wins.
"He kept us in that game," said Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek. "It wasn't his most efficient night, but he made pitches and kept us in that game, and it was nice to get him his first win."
Ian Browne is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
