Matsuzaka simply didn’t have it today. He walked 5 batters and had to be removed after he made over 100 pitches to get through the 5th. The result? He no-hit the Reds opening day lineup. For those of you who haven’t figured it out yet, this is a truly special pitcher who will find success in the majors. He has an ERA of 2.04 in his spring starts and he didn’t even gain his velocity until his last one. Not only can he be successful in the majors, he has the ability as many have speculated to be downright dominant. He’s allowed 1 run while striking out 13 in his last 10.2 innings of work. Many have speculated that the Red Sox will be competiting for the best rotation in the league next year. Everything I’ve seen from Matsuzaka this spring would lead me to believe that he’s going to at least pull his weight.
Matsuzaka was then followed in the 6th by Jonathan Papelbon making what I believe was his first relief appearance of the spring. You pretty much know what you’re getting from Papelbon when he comes in and he delivered as usual. Papelbon pitched a perfect inning, striking out one. In doing so, he lowered his ERA this spring to 2.13. With Papelbon’s move back to the closer spot, the Red Sox not only have potentially the best rotation in the league but they have potentially the best closer as well. For those of you who don’t realize just how amazing he was last year, I’m guessing you didn’t watch much of him. Even if you did, you may not have realized just how incredible it all was. Not only did Papelbon set records for rookie closers, he set records for pitchers all-time in any role. To prove just how dominant Papelbon was last year, his ERA of 0.92 ranks as the 8th lowest ERA of all time for a pitcher who made at least 50 innings. On top of that, he did it all as a rookie in the AL East while striking out 75 batters in 68.1 innings. If he manages to stay healthy, there’s no reason to believe he can’t outpitch the greatest closer of all time again next season.
Now for the not so exciting. Craig Hansen came into the pitch the 7th inning and had what I hope is the worst appearance by any Red Sox pitcher all year. He wasn’t able to get out of the inning after allowing 2 hits, 2 walks and hitting 2 batters in 0.2 innings. When all was said and done, he was tagged with 5 earned runs for the appearance. I’m usually pretty relaxed watching Spring Training games but when Hansen punched a bench after coming out of the game, he earned the wrath of my first cursing of the season. While he certainly has potential and major league level stuff, Hansen has some serious mental issues to work through before being ready for the bigs. It appears as if he has issues with his mechanics as well. Keep an eye on his walk totals in the minors. If they continue to stay up he’s still not ready.
Fortunately, the Red Sox pitchers did manage to end the game on a high note. Kyle Snyder finished out the game with 1.1 scoreless innings in which he allowed 1 hit, no walks and struck out 2. While I’m not much of a Snyder fan I must admit that he has looked good this spring. He now has an ERA of 2.53 which made him the 3rd Red Sox starter of the game to leave with an ERA in the 2’s.
Unfortunately, the Red Sox offense wasn’t up to the task. Although it was a travel day and many of the regulars were missing, they still only managed 3 hits and were kept scoreless. One can only hope that they’re saving the runs for the regular season.
