Shonichi [初日]
| Game 8: April 8, 2008 | |||
| Tigers | 0 | L: Kenny Rogers (0-2) | 0-7, 7 game losing streak |
 Red Sox |
5 | W: Daisuke Matsuzaka (2-0) | 4-4, 1 game winning streak |
| Highlights: For his third shonichi (opening day), Matsuzaka lasted six and two-thirds and looked sharp for most of his outing. He allowed no runs to score while racking up seven strikeouts and walking four. Two of the walks were to Miguel Cabrera, someone who should not be feeding strikes as his weight loss and cold streak has probably made him ravenous for any sort of meatball. The Red Sox enjoyed some home cooking at last: Coco Crisp and and J.D. Drew had single servings of rib eyes while Kevin Youkilis helped himself to two. Cabrera wishes he had such a diet. | |||
Red-tailed hawks and Tigers and Bruins, oh my.
While Kevin Youkilis was drawing a walk in the second inning one of the winged denizens of Fenway Park made an ostentatious flight around the park with his snack. Inspired by the aileron roll of the F-16s earlier in the day, a red-tailed hawk swooped around the park and neatly transferred her prey from beak to foot in flight.
Other predators did not find such easy quarry. The Tigers only mustered five hits and scored no runs. It’s difficult to push anyone across the plate when you have a total of nine baserunners in a game.
Although the local nine’s powerful lineup didn’t create any souvenir shots to the outfield, Kevin Youkilis doubled in the sixth to plate Julio Lugo and Manny Ramirez tripled in the third into the triangle and scored on Placido Polanco’s errant throw (his first error since July 1, 2006).
As the crowd filled in for one line for Steven Tyler’s rendition of God Bless America so did Manny Delcarmen and Hideki Okajima cover for Daisuke Matsuzaka in the last two and one-third innings of the game. None the worse for the abuse Delcarmen suffered in Toronto by Frank Thomas, the Pride of Hyde Park struck out two and his bullpen mate matched him.
More brilliant than the sequins on Neil Diamond’s Red Sox jacket was this jewel of a game, the first win of many in the Fens of Boston.
