Five days removed from a horrendous start in New York in which he gave up four runs before even recording an out, Matsuzaka took a no-hitter into the eighth inning, turning in the most shocking defensive play out of many the Red Sox made in order to keep the gem alive.
It seemed as if Matsuzaka himself couldn't believe his own eyes.
"Of course I knew all along that I hadn't allowed any hits, but I also knew that I'm the type of pitcher that can lapse sometimes, so I was expecting that they get a hit at some point," the right-hander said through interpreter Masa Hoshino.
That point came with two outs in the eighth, when Juan Castro, a utility infielder in the lineup only because Phillies star shortstop Jimmy Rollins was placed on the 15-day disabled list earlier in the day, looped one over the outstretched glove of counterpart Marco Scutaro.
It was a cruel blow, having come just as several members of the Red Sox, and likely many others in attendance, had started to believe that history could occur. Moments earlier, third baseman Adrian Beltre made a sparkling stab of a line drive to start a double play on a ball ticketed to left field. One inning before that, Matsuzaka snagged a screaming liner off the bat of Jayson Werth by reaching across his body.
Catcher Jason Varitek, who has caught a major league record four no-hitters already, said it was the hardest hit ball he has ever seen a pitcher catch.
After witnessing such defensive gems, many felt that Matsuzaka's march into history was only a matter of time.
"I don't know if it's self defense or he's that good, but it seemed like maybe the stars were aligned," manager Terry Francona said of Matsuzaka's stab.
It's hard to imagine anything being in alignment with the way Matsuzaka's season has gone. While one of his first four outings saw him showcase dazzling command in seven dominant innings against Toronto, the three others featured innings where he completely lost it, early trips to the showers and a purported strain in his working relationship with catcher Victor Martinez.
So, when Matsuzaka walked the second man he faced Saturday, it was safe to wonder what might come next.
What did was the first of many close calls.
Chase Utley lined a hard shot that second baseman Dustin Pedroia timed perfectly and caught at the apex of his jump before throwing to first to double off Placido Polanco.
With Polanco on first again in the fourth, Utley drove one into the gap in left-center field that Jeremy Hermida chased down on the track. Several more flies to Hermida in left and Jacoby Ellsbury in center in the middle innings were also struck with authority.
Then, in the sixth, the speedy Shane Victorino grounded one to David Ortiz, who was making his first start at first base since last June. Ortiz dug it out and fed Matsuzaka a step ahead of Victorino.
Big Papi and Dice-K, as mismatched as any tandem on the club, shared a few words and a laugh, now 5 2/3 innings into a no-hitter.
"I told him I got him," Ortiz said with a grin. "I got him."
It was about that time that Matsuzaka — who also recorded his first regular-season, major league hit — thought he might have a shot to join fellow starters Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz on the list of Red Sox hurlers who have thrown no-hitters, of which there have been 18.
It was hard to think otherwise with the way the breaks were going.
"Tonight the defense behind me, a lot of hard-hit balls were turned into outs and they made a lot of tough plays, so I thought to myself if it's going to happen, it's going to be on a night like this," Matsuzaka said.
Matsuzaka finished the eighth and was removed after having thrown 112 pitches. Not all were perfect (he bounced one about eight feet in front of the plate and threw another four feet outside that Werth swung through for strike three in the second), but enough were effective against a lineup considered to be the best in the National League.
Hard to figure.
