In general, Daisuke Matsuzaka turned in a solid first season for Boston, fighting off the fatigue of the longer season than he was used to in Japan and winding up with a 15-12 record and a 4.40 earned-run average.

There were some games in which he pitched very well and received little support for his fine efforts, and there were other games in which he just didn’t have it and was hit hard.

But one theme seemed to characterize Dice-K’s outings.

One bad inning.

The right-hander, for whom the Red Sox shelled out $103 million in posting fees and salary, would be cruising along, and out of nowhere he suddenly would lose all contact with the strike zone or he would become eminently hittable.

Early on, there were questions about whether he had trouble pitching out of the stretch, that maybe that was the reason. Or maybe there was a lack of concentration. Or maybe he became a bit panicked.

Whatever the theory, there were several mystifying one-inning meltdowns. Manager Terry Francona and pitching coach John Farrell learned to endure them because generally, once he got through those bad innings, Matsuzaka recaptured his command.

Here is a sampling of those bad innings:

• April 17 — In the fourth inning in Toronto, Matsuzaka has a 1-0 lead and he whiffs the first batter he faces. But then there’s a single, a walk, a single, a walk and another walk, the final base on balls forcing in the second run of the inning, putting the Jays on top, 2-1. Dice-K needs 38 pitches to get out of the inning. He fans four of the six batters he faces in the fifth and sixth innings. Sox lose, 2-1.

• April 27 — In the fourth inning in Yankee Stadium, with the Sox up, 2-0, Matsuzaka needs 41 pitches to get three outs. The inning begins with walk, walk, walk, single. After a strikeout and a popup, Dice-K gives up two more hits. The total damage is four runs and a 4-2 Sox deficit. Matsuzaka pitches three-up, three-down innings in the fifth and sixth.

• May 3 — At home against Seattle, Matsuzaka’s day gets off to a rocky start in the first inning — walk, walk,, walk, fielder’s choice, hit-batsman, single, error by shortstop Julio Lugo, single. The damage is five runs and a 35-pitch inning. The Sox roar back for an 8-7 win.

• June 21 — At San Diego, Matsuzaka again has first-inning control issues — walk, walk, walk. But after issuing free passes to the first three batters he faces, Dice-K permits only one run in the inning and the Sox win, 2-1.

• July 19 — Matsuzaka has two bouts of wildness at home against the White Sox. He walks two batters in the first, surrendering one run. He walks the first three batters in the sixth and then gives up a hit, finishing him for the game. Boston loses, 4-2.

• Sept. 3 — At home against Toronto, Dice-K’s bad inning is the sixth. He enters the inning with a 10-1 lead. The disturbing sequence goes walk, single, single, home run, single, flyout, single. The 10-1 lead melts to a 10-9 advantage, thanks in part to ineffective relief behind Matsuzaka, who lasts only 5 1/3 innings. The Sox win, 13-10.

• Sept. 8 — In Baltimore, Matsuzaka has a 4-1 lead heading into the bottom of the third. He is able to get only two outs in the third. The bad-inning sequence is single, double, walk, walk, single, walk, strikeout, popup, grand slam. The Sox can’t take Matsuzaka off the hook in this one, falling to the Orioles, 11-5.

The worst part about those one-inning meltdowns is it piled on the pitches. As a result, all too often Matsuzaka’s outings generally were abbreviated, forcing the bullpen to get at least 6-9 outs per start, and more in some cases.