He did not do that last night, leading to the Sox losing their second straight home game to a National League club. Upstaged by fellow Japanese national Kenshin Kawakami, Matsuzaka took the loss, 8-2, to the Braves in front of 37,703.
At the moment, Matsuzaka does not have a next scheduled start. John Smoltz is slated to go Thursday in Matsuzaka’s normal turn in the rotation. Pitching coach John Farrell said after the game, “I think until a determination comes from within, we haven’t announced a rotation beyond that.’’
“There’s certainly no imminent announcement, if that’s what you’re asking for,’’ Farrell added of what comes next for Matsuzaka. “But knowing how determined he is, knowing the work ethic that he has, he’s disappointed, I’m sure. But at the same time we can’t forget that this is a 33-game winner over the previous two years coming into this season. We certainly have some work to do. Consistency of strikes, particularly with his fastball, is the primary target. We’ll continue to work toward that.’’
Manager Terry Francona said that with Monday’s offday, the Sox have “the ability to be a little flexible in what we do going forward.’’ He also said that nothing is likely to be an nounced before Monday, prior to the team’s trip to Washington.
When Francona said before the game, “The best way is for him to pound the strike zone,’’ he probably wasn’t referring to what ensued in the first inning. The embattled Matsuzaka allowed three hits in his first four pitches.
“I couldn’t get strikes with either my fastball or my breaking balls, and I had a hard time hitting my locations with any of my pitches,’’ Matsuzaka said.
His first pitch was deposited into the visitors’ bullpen by Nate McLouth, a quick way to a one-run deficit. And it got worse. Two of the next three pitches resulted in a single by Yunel Escobar and a double by Chipper Jones. The boos began. It was at that point that Matsuzaka seemed to lose the strike zone entirely.
