BOSTON - Just hours before Daisuke Matsuzaka made the entire nation of Japan stand still with his first Fenway Park performance one week ago, one member of the Red Sox organization preferred to talk about the starter's countryman and Boston teammate, Hideki Okajima.
"This is nothing for (Okajima)," he said of the scene surrounding Matsuzaka's Fenway debut. "He's done it on some of the biggest stages in Japan."
Last night, the unassuming lefty showed that whatever path he had endured in his 12 years in the Japanese League offered enough experience to handle one of the grandest stages this country's big leagues will present - at least in April, anyway.
With Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon off limits having pitched two straight days in Toronto, the Red Sox called upon their 30-year-old rookie to punctuate their come-from-behind, 7-6 win over the New York Yankees.
Not only did Okajima come through with his first major league save (he did accumulate 25 as the Yomiuri Giants' closer in 2001), but he did so while venturing through the heart of the Yankees lineup. Most notably, the reliever retired the owner of 12 home runs in the first 15 games, Alex Rodriguez, by inducing a weak line-out to second on an 3-and-2, 88 mph fastball.
Six pitches later, Okajima had struck out New York's Kevin Thompson and made one huge impression on the sell-out Fenway crowd.
"I don't know if he realizes what he just did, but he should realize that he just did something pretty special," said Red Sox reliever Brendan Donnelly. "I have got to believe it was one of the biggest moments of his life."
The slight smile Okajima carries throughout the clubhouse on a regular basis masks the kind of competitor he has already shown for both the Giants and Nippon Ham Fighters in the Japan Series, which he helped win three times.
But, as it turns out, it is a combination of nerve, stuff ("His changeup is almost so slow you can't stay back on it," said Sox catcher Doug Mirabelli), and experience that allowed Okajima to outshine the likes of Derek Jeter and the game's hottest hitter, Rodriguez. Meanwhile, New York closer Mariano Rivera was suffering through an eighth-inning implosion.
"Hitters don't look like they are on balls at all," said Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis. "He throws that changeup, and they don't come close to hitting it."
"This is nothing for (Okajima)," he said of the scene surrounding Matsuzaka's Fenway debut. "He's done it on some of the biggest stages in Japan."
Last night, the unassuming lefty showed that whatever path he had endured in his 12 years in the Japanese League offered enough experience to handle one of the grandest stages this country's big leagues will present - at least in April, anyway.
With Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon off limits having pitched two straight days in Toronto, the Red Sox called upon their 30-year-old rookie to punctuate their come-from-behind, 7-6 win over the New York Yankees.
Not only did Okajima come through with his first major league save (he did accumulate 25 as the Yomiuri Giants' closer in 2001), but he did so while venturing through the heart of the Yankees lineup. Most notably, the reliever retired the owner of 12 home runs in the first 15 games, Alex Rodriguez, by inducing a weak line-out to second on an 3-and-2, 88 mph fastball.
Six pitches later, Okajima had struck out New York's Kevin Thompson and made one huge impression on the sell-out Fenway crowd.
"I don't know if he realizes what he just did, but he should realize that he just did something pretty special," said Red Sox reliever Brendan Donnelly. "I have got to believe it was one of the biggest moments of his life."
The slight smile Okajima carries throughout the clubhouse on a regular basis masks the kind of competitor he has already shown for both the Giants and Nippon Ham Fighters in the Japan Series, which he helped win three times.
But, as it turns out, it is a combination of nerve, stuff ("His changeup is almost so slow you can't stay back on it," said Sox catcher Doug Mirabelli), and experience that allowed Okajima to outshine the likes of Derek Jeter and the game's hottest hitter, Rodriguez. Meanwhile, New York closer Mariano Rivera was suffering through an eighth-inning implosion.
"Hitters don't look like they are on balls at all," said Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis. "He throws that changeup, and they don't come close to hitting it."
Okajima has had to make some adjustments, such as the extended period of time he takes to get warmed up. The game's winning pitcher, Kyle Snyder, estimates that while most relievers might need 10 to 12 pitches to get ready, both himself and "Okaji" require up to 25 or more.
But however the lover of romance stories gets his game face on, it seems to be working.
Since allowing a home run to Kansas City's John Buck on his very first major league pitch, Okajima hasn't allowed a run. He also hasn't surrendered a hit since that initial game in Kansas City, a streak that has stretched through six innings and 86 pitches.
But all of it - including his last appearance when he struck out the side in Toronto - takes a back seat to what transpired against the Yankees.
"I wasn't expecting to go in and pitch in an important situation like this," Okajima said through a translator. "I never expected that things like this would happen to me today. It was a very precious moment for me."
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