Boston send Matsuzaka to mound for game one
BOSTON, Massachusetts (AFP) — The Boston Red Sox will send 18-game winner Daisuke Matsuzaka to the mound on Friday for game one of the American League Championship Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Japanese import will be followed by Josh Beckett in game two of the best-of-seven series, which will send one team to the World Series.
When the series shifts from Florida to Boston's Fenway Park for game three, Jon Lester will start, and knuckleballer Tim Wakefield gets the nod for game four, his first appearance in this postseason.
Matsuzaka, Beckett and Lester will follow in order for games five, six and seven if needed.
"The reasoning is actually pretty simple," said Terry Francona, manager of the defending World Series champion Red Sox. "It gives people rest, not too much rest, not too little. It's probably the best way where we don't have one guy going on eight (days' rest)."
Matsuzaka started game two of the first-round series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Boston won 7-5, but Matsuzaka didn't get the decision, allowing three runs and five hits in five innings.
Matsuzaka led the Red Sox with an 18-3 record this season, while Lester went 16-6. Beckett battled injuries and finished with a 12-10 record, while Wakefield was 10-11.
Beckett was limited to just one start in the last fortnight of the season as he struggled with an oblique strain.
He will benefit from the extended format that provides for an extra day of rest between games four and five.
"Rest at this time of year is huge, and we'll take advantage of it while trying not to give too much," Francona said.
The Red Sox worked out for an hour at Fenway on Wednesday, before boarding a plane bound for St. Petersburg, Florida.
