Hideki Matsui hit a tiebreaking two-run single to help lift the New York Yankees to a 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Thursday.
Hideki Matsui of the New York Yankees nails a tiebreaking two-run single in the fifth inning of Thursday's game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Following a Jason Giambi RBI grounder that tied the game 1-1, the struggling Matsui drove in two runs with a two-out single to center off Mark Hendrickson at Yankee Stadium. It was his first hit in 12 plate appearances.
"I broke my bat. But luckily, the ball grounded to a spot where it would be a simple groundout if it was somewhere else," Matsui said, referring to the two-run single that grounded past second baseman Ty Wigginton and shortstop Tomas Perez.
In his other three at-bats, Matsui struck out looking, grounded out to second and flied out to center.
At Busch Stadium, So Taguchi went 2-for-3 and scored a run as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 6-2 for their fourth straight win.
Taguchi flied out to center, walked, singled to center and doubled down the right-field line in his second consecutive multihit game.
With hits off Jason Bergmann and Gary Majewski, Taguchi raised his average against right-handers to .161 from .103. Against left-handers, he is hitting a whopping .423.