{"id":16015,"date":"2013-08-24T00:08:56","date_gmt":"2013-08-24T00:08:56","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2013-08-24T00:08:56","modified_gmt":"2013-08-24T00:08:56","slug":"Daisuke-Matsuzaka-stumbles-in-debut-for-Mets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=16015","title":{"rendered":"Daisuke Matsuzaka stumbles in debut for Mets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Daisuke Matsuzaka who once was “one of the best in the world,” according to manager Terry Collins, was hit hard early in a 6-1 loss to the fearsome Detroit Tigers Friday night at Citi Field.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He allowed five runs in the first 12\/3 innings, including a long solo home run by Torii Hunter in the first and an absolute bomb by Miguel Cabrera in the second. Cabrera’s three-run shot came one pitch after Hunter hit an RBI double that one-hopped over the centerfield wall.<\/p>\n

“I was a little bit more nervous than I expected to be,” Matsuzaka said through a translator. “The home runs and the runs and the hits that came those two innings woke me up, and from the third inning on, I was able to settle down and go back to what I’ve worked on in the minor leagues this year and [it] convinced me that I can keep major-league hitters off the bases. Unfortunately, the first two innings decided the game, so it wasn’t how I wanted it to go.”<\/p>\n

Matsuzaka cost the Red Sox $103 million in posting fees and salary after he came over from Japan in 2007.<\/strong> This year, he was toiling in Cleveland’s minor-league system after going 1-7 with an 8.28 ERA for Boston in 2012.<\/p>\n

The Mets signed the 32-year-old Thursday and handed him Dwight Gooden’s No. 16 and an immediate start.<\/strong> Matsuzaka, who went 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA for Boston in 2008, was pitching on three days’ rest after starting for Triple-A Columbus on Monday. He was 5-8 with a 3.92 ERA for Columbus before activating an out clause in his contract when the Mets came calling.<\/p>\n