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Matsui pitched two-thirds of an inning in Wednesday's regular-season opener against the Dodgers in South Korea, allowing one walk and striking out one batter without allowing any runs.
Matsui worked as a closer during most of his 10-year career in Japan, but he came into Wednesday's contest in the sixth frame in his first big-league appearance. The southpaw began his outing by walking James Outman but followed that by fooling Enrique Hernandez badly for a three-pitch swinging strikeout and then retiring Gavin Lux on a flyout. Matsui could eventually ascend to higher-leverage work, but he missed much of spring training due to a back injury, so he may be still in the process of fully ramping up. For now, it looks like Robert Suarez will get the first shot to stake a claim as San Diego's closer.
