October 16, 2008 Daisuke Matsuzaka did not pitch well in his four innings of work in Game 5 of the ALCS, giving up three home runs and allowing five earned runs.
Our View:Matsuzaka was bailed out by his teammates, who stormed back from a 7-0 deficit for a remarkable victory.
October 15, 2008 Daisuke Matsuzaka has been slated to take the hill in Thursday's Game 5 of the ALCS against the Rays, according to ESPN.
Our View:The Red Sox are on the verge of elimination as they trail 3-1 in the series, and want to go with Matsuzaka, who is the "ace"of the rotation, and only allowed three earned runs over 12 innings in the postseason.
October 10, 2008 Daisuke Matsuzaka hurled seven scoreless innings, with only four hits allowed, in Friday's 2-0 win over the Rays in Game 1 of the ALCS at Tropicana Field, with four walks and nine strikeouts.
Our View:Dice-K proved why he is the "ace" among a strong Boston pitching staff in tonight's dominant win. Josh Beckett will take the hill next in Game 2 as the Red Sox chase their third World Series in five years.
October 8, 2008 Daisuke Matsuzaka has been slated to take the hill in Game 1 of the ALCS against the Rays, according to the Boston Globe.
Our View:Josh Beckett will follow him in Game 2, and Jon Lester will go in Game 3. Tim Wakefield will start Game 4, and Dice-K would start again in Game 5. Boston is aiming for a third World Series title in five years.
September 28, 2008 In his final start before the playoffs, Daisuke Matsuzaka was only used for four innings, but it was long enough to absorb his third loss of the season. He allowed three Yankee runs, all on Xavier Nady's fourth inning home run. He allowed six baserunners and struck out five.
Our View:Dice-K was an impressive 18-3 this season for the Red Sox. He finishes the season with a 2.90 ERA but has largely been overshadowed by the AL pitching performances of Cliff Lee, Francisco Rodriguez and Roy Halladay.
