• Preview
• Bleachers

Matsuzaka makes major league debut on Thursday

Apr 5, 2007 - 2:15 PM Boston (1-1) at Kansas City (1-1), 2:10 pm EDT

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- Daisuke Matsuzaka makes his much anticipated major league debut on Thursday afternoon when the Boston Red Sox close out a series against the Kansas City Royals.

The 26-year-old Japanese righthander signed a six-year contract worth $52 million after the Red Sox paid a posting fee of $51.1 million just for the right to negotiate.

The posting fee was far and away the highest ever. The previous largest bid was the $13.1 million the Seattle Mariners paid the Orix BlueWave six years ago for the right to sign outfielder Ichiro Suzuki.

After the Red Sox signed Matsuzaka, the New York Yankees paid a posting fee of more than $20 million for lefthander Kei Igawa.

The MVP of the World Baseball Classic, Matsuzaka led Japan's Pacific League in wins three times, ERA twice and strikeouts four times in an eight-year career. Last season, he went 17-5 with a 2.13 ERA and struck out 200 in 186 1/3 innings.

He struggled with his control during spring training, adapting to a wider strike zone and a ball that is slicker than the one used in Japan. Matsuzaka allowed seven earned runs in 21 2/3 innings this spring, walking 11.

Zack Greinke will start for the Royals. The 23-year-old righthander took most of last season off to deal with personal issues, but earned a spot in the rotation this spring by striking out 27 and allowing eight runs in 24 innings.

The teams have split the first two games of the series.