ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) Daisuke Matsuzaka's brilliant escape act bewildered Tampa Bay and put the Boston Red Sox on top in the AL championship series.
Matsuzaka took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning and worked out of trouble all game, pitching the defending World Series champions past the Rays 2-0 Friday night in the ALCS opener.
Dice-K wiggled out of trouble in the first and seventh, then got help from his bullpen to rebuff one more threat in the eighth as the Red Sox taught the young Rays about dominant postseason pitching.
© 2008 by STATS LLC and Associated Press.