Boston bank on Matsuzaka factor in opener

By Alastair Himmer

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Boston Red Sox will be banking on Daisuke Matsuzaka magic to give them a winning start to the season against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday.

Matsuzaka mania is expected to reach fever pitch at a sell-out Tokyo Dome when the World Series champions and Oakland open the new Major League Baseball (MLB) campaign.

"After I went to America I thought one day perhaps I'd get the chance to come back and pitch here in Japan," Boston's $100 million pitcher told reporters.

"I didn't expect to get the opportunity in my second year. It's a source of pride for me to come back as a world champion.

There were fears Matsuzaka would be unable to make the trip because his wife was pregnant but she gave birth to their second child last weekend and gave her husband her blessing.

"It was very difficult to say goodbye," said Matsuzaka, christened "Dice-K" upon his arrival in Boston last year. "For a while it looked like I wouldn't be able to come but my family were very supportive and told me to go and play well."

While Matsuzaka and reliever Hideki Okajima are set to attract much of the attention in the two back-to-back regular season games, business comes first for Boston.

"We'll probably look more serious than we normally do when game time comes," said Boston manager Terry Francona. "We'll be focusing on what we need to do -- taking care of business."