Hideki Matsui doesn't grab headlines like Jason Giambi, Alex Rodriguez or Derek Jeter. But he can deliver heroics as thrilling as any of his Yankee teammates.
Matsui belted the game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth to keep the Yankees alive in their 5-4 come-from-behind win against the Blue Jays last night at the Stadium.
Matsui drove in three runs in the Yankees' 7-0 victory over the Jays Monday night. In the seventh inning last night, Matsui hit a one-out single and later scored on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2.
"That was huge," Torre said of the game-tying homer. "It gave us a huge lift."
Matsui belted the homer to right field off Miguel Batista, a pitcher he has had some success against in the past.
"I was not thinking home run at all, I was just looking for a good pitch to hit and get a good swing on it," Matsui said through an interpreter. "Even if I had two strikes, I still wanted to wait and see a good pitch to hit."
That was the second time last night he got the Yankees back into a game that seemed to be slipping away from them. In the seventh, with the Blue Jays up 2-1, Matsui singled up the middle to wake up the Stadium crowd, later scoring on Jorge Posada's sacrifice fly to left field.
It is no surprise that the man who played in 1,698 consecutive Japanese League games and 448 straight as a Yankee would be reliable. It's just sometimes his steady contributions get overlooked.
For instance Monday night, Matsui delivered yet again another multiple RBI game - his 27th of the season. It was overshadowed by A-Rod's lone RBI - one that gave him 100 for the eighth consecutive season. Last night, Matsui himself seemed more excited about Felix Escalona's game-winning hit than about his 20th homer and 94th RBI of the season.
This season, Matsui seems even more confident when he is in a position to drive in a run. He's hitting .296, but when he has runners in scoring position, Matsui is hitting .310.
"I don't really focus any differently in 'clutch' situations," Matsui said through his interpreter. "Whether or not it is a crucial situation or not, I just know what it is I am trying to do at the plate. I don't approach it any differently."
