Red Sox starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka will be in a real comfortable place when he takes the mound Tuesday night. That's because he'll be opposing the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in Toronto.
This season and throughout his career, Matsuzaka has dominated the Blue Jays. He enters his Tuesday start with a lifetime 6-1 record to go along with a 3.69 ERA. Perhaps most impressive are his strikeout-to-walk numbers. In 57 1/3 career innings against the Jays, Dice-K has struck out 55 while only walking 14.
This season has been nothing different for the right-hander. In two starts this season against the Jays, Matsuzaka has been dominant. He's won both starts while cruising to a 2.08 ERA. Throwing strikes — which Matsuzaka has struggled to do at times in his career, to say the least — has been his biggest strength this year against the Jays. He's struck out 14 without walking a batter in 13 innings pitched. It's the only team against which Matsuzaka has not issued a free pass this year.
It makes sense that he would have that kind of success against a team like Toronto. While the Jays have made headlines all year with their ability to hit the long ball, they remain a free-swinging lineup, something that fits in perfectly with a pitcher like Matsuzaka who has been known to "nibble."
Toronto has 322 walks on the season — the fifth-fewest in baseball. They also have the 11th-most strikeouts in all of baseball.
The start against the Blue Jays also coincides with some of Dice-K's best pitching of the season. He's quietly been very good for the Red Sox this season, especially as of late. In his last five starts, he's 4-1 with a 2.48 ERA.
