09/11/05 01:09:31 HZuxpxeG
A hot Matsui back in Yankees' starting lineup
URLﾘﾝｸ(www.philly.com)
By Matt Gelb
Inquirer Staff Writer
NEW YORK - For three games in Philadelphia, Hideki Matsui played the role of the dangerous lefthanded
bat off the bench. It worked well: Matsui was 2 for 3 with a home run as a pinch-hitter.
Now, back in an American League park with the designated hitter rule in play,
Matsui and his potent bat can return to the New York Yankees' starting lineup tonight for Game 6 of the World Series.
"He's been clutch for us all year," rightfielder Nick Swisher said. "He's still got it.
He's still got a lot left in the tank, and he's a lot of fun to watch because you never know what he's going to do."
Throughout the postseason, the 35-year-old Matsui has swung a hot bat,
hitting .308 with three home runs and seven RBIs. In the first two games of the World Series,
when Matsui was the DH, he was 3 for 6. And in Game 2, he hit the go-ahead home run
in the sixth inning off Pedro Martinez, who will start for the Phillies tonight.
Matsui had been seeing the ball so well that Yankees manager Joe Girardi said earlier
in the series he was contemplating playing Matsui in left field.
But Girardi stuck with using Matsui as a pinch-hitter in Philadelphia.
"This guy has a chance to turn a game around every at-bat," first baseman Mark Teixeira said of Matsui.
すげー、フィラデルフィア地元紙で松井ベタ褒め記事ｗｗｗｗｗｗ