Hideki Matsui certainly didn’t mind watching the Twins replace one lefty with another in the fifth inning last night.
So long, Brian Duensing. Hello, Francisco Liriano — and goodbye baseball.
Matsui’s two-run homer on Liriano’s fourth pitch gave the Yankees breathing room in their 7-2 victory in Game 1 of the AL Division Series.
“He’s been huge for us all year,” manager Joe Girardi said. “Another home run off a left-hander.”
Matsui hit 13 homers in the regular season against lefties — tying him for the major-league lead among left-handed hitters. The fact he compiled that total in only 131 at-bats tells you Liriano probably wasn’t the best option to face Matsui.
But Twins manager Ron Gardenhire had little choice, a night after he emptied his bullpen in a 12-inning victory over the Tigers in the AL Central tiebreaker.
Liriano had a fresh arm, equipped to work multiple innings and worth a shot after Duensing gave up a RBI single to Alex Rodriguez with two outs in the fifth, extending the Yanks’ lead to 4-2.
Matsui worked the count to 2-1 against Liriano before blasting a 93-mph fastball over the center-field fence.
“The intention there was [throw] no strikes,” Gardenhire said. “If we get behind, we’ll put him on. We threw a strike, and there you have it.”
The Yankees have come to expect such October production from Matsui, a career .303 postseason hitter with seven homers and 28 RBIs. But he was one of several Yankees who pulled a disappearing act in the Yankees’ last playoff appearance two years ago. Matsui hit only .182 in the ALDS against Cleveland and did not drive in a run.
After setting a franchise record with 244 homers this regular season — two more than the 2004 club hit — the Yankees received a Derek Jeter two-run blast in the third and Matsui’s shot in the fifth.
“Certainly that home run there was a key point in turning the momentum of the game,” Matsui said.
But he was also glad to see contributions throughout the lineup.
“Tonight was really a true example of a united team,” Matsui said.