Matsuzaka Mania

Daisuke Matsuzaka, the game's most talked about rookie, absolutely breezed through his first outing of the year against major leaguers. He allowed two hits in three scoreless innings and struck out three for the Boston Red Sox in their 14-6, 10-inning victory over the Florida Marlins on Tuesday. The game was televised live in Japan, where the first pitch was at 3 a.m.

In front of a soldout crowd of 8,044 fans, Matsuzaka threw a fastball that topped out at 94 mph and got 9-of-11 first-pitch strikes with 47 total pitches.

It turns out he's a pretty good fielder, too. The Japanese righty reached to snag a Hanley Ramirez liner, then grinned and bowed to his shortstop.

Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek went to the mound for a chat with Daisuke on a 2-2 count to third baseman Scott Seabol. Daisuke's English lessons must be progressing well, because he covered his mouth with his glove to prevent the Marlins from reading his lips. Seabol was then caught looking with a nasty slider.

The Matsuzaka Mania overshadowed a strong outing by Marlins starter Yusmeiro Petit, who pitched three shutout innings, allowing one hit and striking out five. Florida gave up 13 runs in the final four innings and fell to 1-6.

[MLB]