With late heroics, a sunny start

March 26, 2008|Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Columnist

TOKYO - History walked hand-in-hand with suspense. The Red Sox starter was Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Red Sox winner was Hideki Okajima. A last-minute substitute, a rookie from Georgia wearing Hank Aaron's number, sent the game into extra innings with a homer in the ninth. There was an acrobatic catch by phenom Jacoby Ellsbury. Manny Ramírez knocked in the winning run. Dancing Fool Jonathan Papelbon put the tying and winning runs aboard before finally closing the door in a fun-filled, action-packed, 6-5 10-inning Red Sox victory yesterday at the Tokyo Dome.

So this is how you start a title defense.

The 108th Red Sox opener, in the Land of the Rising Sun, had something for everyone, unless you were one of those cardboard cutouts wearing an Oakland Athletics uniform.

If you forked over big bucks to fly 6,700 miles from Fenway, you were happy. If you took the train in from Yokohama to see your Japanese idols, you were happy. If you were watching while you got dressed for work in your Brighton apartment, you were happy.

If you were Brandon Moss, hitting your first big-league homer in storybook fashion, you were happy.

"It's something you dream about, to hit a game-tying homer in the ninth," said Moss, a 24-year-old outfielder who is not expected to be part of the 25-man team when the regular season resumes next week in Oakland.

If you were the commissioner of baseball, you were happy.

"I'm sure the sports bars in Boston were filled for this one, even though it started at 6 in the morning," said baseball czar Bud Selig. "When I left my hotel today, I had to pinch myself. I thought I was in Boston. Everybody in the lobby waiting to come to the game had Red Sox paraphernalia on. It is remarkable."

Tokyo folks were either at the Dome or at home watching on television. They were happy.

"We were in one of the finest restaurants in Tokyo Monday night," said Paul Archey, who organized the event for Major League Baseball. "They told us that they had no reservations for Tuesday. They said everyone was going to be at home watching Daisuke and the Red Sox."

Hard to imagine what General Douglas MacArthur would have thought.

"As grand as this is, I'm sure he had his eye on grander things," said Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino. "But he was certainly interested in a Japan that reflected some of the best of American institutions."

This was American baseball at its action-packed best.

Yoshiro Mori, former prime minister of Japan, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. His reception was lukewarm at best (think Grady Little returning to Fenway). Mori threw a one-hopper to home plate.

Dustin Pedroia opened the season with a single up the middle on an 0-and-1 pitch, but the Sox failed to score.

Enter Matsuzaka.