ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Since arriving in United States and beginning his Major League Baseball career with the Red Sox prior to the 2007 season, pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka's English has improved greatly. He still doesn't speak it publicly, but most of his teammates will say they can communicate with him just fine.

The one word in the Japanese-to-English dictionary he hasn't gotten to yet is "pressure," because he's handled pressure situations with relative ease all season.

The right-hander led the league in walks with 92. He would continually load the bases in what has become a typical Dice-K outing. He would throw a ton of pitches early and only worked past the seventh inning six times in 29 regular-season starts.

But Matsuzaka held opponents hitless in 14 bases-loaded situations this season, which is tied for most in the majors with the Rangers' Frank Francisco.

Plus he limited opponents to a .164 average with runners in scoring position, which was the best in the majors.

Because his starts could be considered long and drawn out, his numbers really didn't make headlines. They will now.

Pitching in October, and having the type of outing Matsuzaka masterfully performed in Game One of the ALCS Friday night at Tropicana Field, will make the baseball world pay attention. He held the Rays hitless until the seventh inning to help Boston to a 2-0 victory and a 1-0 series advantage.

Even before this series starter, some had the Rays' James Shields as the odds-on favorite in Game One.

Tampa's right-hander pitched well, but not good enough. The ace allowed two runs on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts, but Matsuzaka was a magician. He worked seven scoreless innings -- plus two batters in the eighth -- and allowed only four hits with four walks and nine strikeouts.

"Dice threw the ball well," said batterymate Jason Varitek. "He ran into trouble in the first inning. He got into two jams and was able to get out of both of them. He got into trouble (in the first) with some walks, but he didn't miss by much. It wasn't like he was all over the place . . .

You have to just keep going with Dice because he could be different every inning. You have to see what's working and try to work with it.

"It was completely different than his first-ever ALCS game against the Cleveland Indians last October.

It was Oct. 15, 2007 when he took the ball at Jacobs Field and struggled, allowing four runs on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts. He threw 101 pitches (59 strikes) in only 4 2/3 innings of work.

The Red Sox lost 4-2 in Game Three of that series, and afterwards Matsuzaka sat in the corner of the visitor's clubhouse in complete disbelief and despair for an extended period of time.

He eventually rebounded from that horrific outing and won Game Seven at Fenway Park to send the Red Sox to the World Series where he was the winning pitcher in Game Three against the Rockies.

Friday night he continued his postseason momentum. It's not like he cruised through the Rays' lineup.

He loaded the bases in the first inning, but like so many times this season, he got out of it.

He then retired the next 15 of 16 batters.

"As he got into the middle of the game, he really threw the ball well," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "He got into a groove, and the ball had a lot of life through the strike zone."

Even before Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett recorded the last out in the top of the seventh inning when he caught a Varitek pop up, Matsuzaka was already making his way to the mound.

The right-hander was working on a no-hitter and wanted to make quick work of the Rays in the bottom of the seventh. However, due to the singing of "God Bless America" and then a network break, Dice-K's momentum was thrown off course. No doubt it had an effect on his rhythm.

On his 90th pitch of the game, Rays' Carl Crawford singled to right to lead off the inning, snapping Matsuzaka's no-hit bid. Cliff Floyd followed with a single to put runners on the corners with no outs. Again, he got out of it.

"He looked unbelievable," said Sox' Kevin Youkilis, who went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a RBI.

"It's amazing, we always joke how he gets out of these innings. He'll have the bases loaded and nobody out, or first and third and nobody out. But he gets out of the jams. It's amazing how he does it. He had great stuff tonight."

Fortunately the Red Sox gave Matsuzaka a two-run cushion with a run in the fifth and another in the eighth.

His performance was critical to give Boston an early series lead, and now the pressure is now on the Rays.

"That's what we've been watching all year long," said closer Jonathan Papelbon, who picked up the save. "This guy, you put him up against a wall and that's when his best stuff comes out. He went out there and battled and poured his heart into this game and helped us win this game."