The Day After (4/5/07): Red Sox win, 4-1

The Starter:

It's not a secret: Daisuke Matsuzaka was great in his Major League Baseball debut. He lived up to the hype and delivered a great performance on a cold, cold day. Matsuzaka went 7 innings, struck out 10, gave up one walk and one run to earn his first MLB victory.

The 'Pen:

JC Romero filled in for Matsuzaka for the eighth and  gave up just one hit. Romero continues to really impress me, personally. I think he's going to have a great season in our bullpen.

Jonathan Papelbon closed it out for his first save of the season. Has he lost a step since last season? Not a bit. His fastball was electric and had that late pop we're all so accustom to seeing. Papelbon struck out two without allowing a baserunner.

The Lineup:

Julio Lugo broke out of a slump and went 2-for-5. He stole third which lead to a run when Royals' catcher John Buck had a terrible throw to third.

JD Drew continues to seem comfortable as a Sox. He went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run. Drew is showing early signs of being one of the best number 5 guys in the season.

The first inning scoring trend continues. Manny Ramirez hit a double in the first to score Kevin Youkilis. Ramirez went 2-for-5.

Also joining the hit parade was Mike Lowell and Dustin Pedroia, who both went 2-for-4 on the evening. David Ortiz struggled, however, going 1-for-5 with a run and four strikeouts.

Winner: There's no question about it, Matsuzaka deserves to take home The Mueller today.

Winner (?): It's hard to pick out a loser in this group. Ortiz struggled, but he did score a crucial run. Varitek went hitless and left four on-base, but he handled Matsuzaka extremely well. Youkilis went 0'fer, but did score a run. So you get to choose.