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Matsuzaka faces an old foe in home debut

Apr 11, 2007 - 3:01 PM Seattle (2-2) at Boston (4-3) 7:05 pm EDT

BOSTON (Ticker) -- Two of the most celebrated Japanese players reunite for the first time in seven years.

Daisuke Matsuzaka makes his home debut for the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday against countryman Ichiro Suzuki and the Seattle Mariners.

The reunion of Matsuzaka and Suzuki matches two of Japan's most beloved players. Fittingly, Suzuki will be the first batter Matsuzaka faces.

Matsuzaka has had the upper hand in his meetings with Suzuki, who is just 8-for-34 against the righthander in the two years they played against each other in Japan before the rightfielder signed with the Mariners in 2001.

So far, Matsuzaka (1-0, 1.29 ERA) has been worth every penny to the Red Sox. Boston won a bidding war with a record $51.1 million posting fee to negotiate exclusively with Matsuzaka and then signed him to a six-year, $52 million deal.

In his first start of the year, the 26-year-old Matsuzaka struck out 10 in seven innings and allowed just one run and six hits in a 4-1 win at Kansas City last Thursday.

The Mariners counter with 21-year-old phenom Felix Hernandez (1-0, 0.00), who was brilliant in his first start on Opening Day, striking out a career high 12 and allowing just three hits in eight shutout innings against Oakland.

The Red Sox pounded the Mariners, 14-3, in their home opener on Tuesday. Jason Varitek had three hits and three RBI.