KND Report: Junichi Tazawa battles adversity to win his first MLB start

August 13, 3:08 AMAsian-American Sports ExaminerMichael Street

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Junichi Tazawa pitched through adversity in his first start
(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Boston's Junichi Tazawa, who started this year in double-A , has come a long way since then, but he didn't look like it last night, overcoming a long first inning and an emotional game to notch his first major-league win.

Pitching in August for a team battling for a playoff spot in the tough AL East isn't the way a rookie should start his career, but this isn't any rookie.

Tazawa has been the focus of international attention ever since announcing his decision to forego the Japanese league draft last September.

This led to a change in the rules behind the NPB draft, and could lead to a paradigm shift in the way MLB teams look at Japanese pitchers.

With the injury problems faced by Dice-K Matsuzaka and Koji Uehara, teams are going to want to look at Eastern pitchers at a much younger age, before they suffer from overuse or just age.

With the way Tazawa's zoomed through the minor leagues, and the way he looked last night, more teams are going to want to get Asian players early on.

Last night, he got one out on Curtis Granderson, then gave up back-to-back singles to Placido Polanco and Clete Thomas to put two on for Miguel Cabrera, one of the best hitters in baseball.

He got Cabrera down 0-2 before wasting a pitch high that clipped Cabrera on top of the hand. It wasn't a "purpose pitch" to back Cabrera off the plate; it was just a waste pitch that got away from him, something that's not helped because Cabrera dives towards the plate as he swings.

The bases were now loaded but Tazawa didn't flinch and got a tailor-made double-play ground ball from Carlos Guillen to Nick Green—who promptly threw it past Dustin Pedroia for a run-scoring error.

Faced with the same situation, Tazawa once again induced a double-play grounder from Magglio Ordonez, and this time, his defense made the turn, but Carlos Guillen barreled into Pedroia, breaking up the double play, and another run scored.

Tazawa then walked Alex Avila and gave up an RBI single to Brandon Inge before retiring Ramon Santiago on a groundout. Of the three runs that scored in the inning, only one was earned.

In Boston's half of the frame, Tiger pitcher Rick Porcello buzzed Victor Martinez in retaliation for Tazawa hitting Cabrera, but he missed him and Boston was unable to score.

Tazawa only allowed Clete Thomas to reach in the second but otherwise retired the Red Sox easily; Cabrera's hand didn't allow him to finish his at-bat, however, and Ryan Raburn struck out for the third out of the inning in his place.

Kattobase Nihonjin Dairiigaa!

Boston's second inning was not so quick and easy. Porcello began by plunking Kevin Youkilis with the first pitch.

Though it later looked like it might have been accidental, Youk charged the mound, starting a bench-clearing brawl that would take a good fifteen minutes to sort out.

Boston sent six more men to the plate, scoring three to tie the score, and Tazawa would return to the emotionally charged game after a good thirty-five minutes on the bench, with the score now tied.

He pitched three more scoreless frames, looking better the longer he pitched. In the meantime, Boston would score three more runs to give Tazawa the lead and, ultimately, the win.

Tazawa looked very poised out on the mound, despite the emotions, long first inning, and long rest between the second and third innings. He showed his physical and mental makeup by not just pitching, but getting better as he went along.

He ended having thrown 98 pitches, 63 for strikes, showing he's unafraid of major-league pitching; that only three hits reached the outfield, and only one hit was for extra bases, shows he knows how to keep the ball down.

Tazawa isn't Matsuzaka, who hurts himself with walks, or Uehara and Kawakami, who get hurt by the longball when they leave the ball up in the zone. He's something special, and something all his own.

You can see him throw again when he faces Texas in a real test: Arlington Field in August, a home-run haven. Removed from the familiar and friendly surroundings of Fenway, Tazawa will face more tests.

Last night's game shows that he's up to the challenge.