Daisuke Matsuzaka's homecoming was as memorable as advertised. Brandon Moss and Manny Ramirez made sure of it.

Moss hit his first major-league home run in the top of the ninth to tie the score before Ramirez put Boston ahead with a two-run double in the 10th that gave Hideki Okajima the win as the Red Sox defeated the Oakland A's 6-5 in the 2008 MLB season opener on Tuesday at Tokyo Dome.

"You can't really script that," Boston manager Terry Francona said of Moss' home run. "It certainly played a big part in our win."

Oakland third baseman Jack Hannahan's two-run homer in the sixth gave the A's a 4-3 lead and looked primed to send most of the 44,628 fans in attendance home disappointed.

But Moss, a surprise starter in place of J.D Drew and playing in his 16th career game, sent the decidedly pro-Red Sox crowd into a frenzy with a game-tying shot to right field off Oakland closer Huston Street in the ninth.

"He tweaked his back during BP," Francona said of Drew. "He didn't say anything to anybody because I think he thought he was going to be fine. He couldn't get loose. We tried to wait long enough, actually right before the introductions, so we inserted Moss."

Okajima (1-0) preserved the tie in the bottom half of the ninth to send the game into extra innings.

"I actually had some nerves, even when I was on the mound," Okajima said. "But I was pumped up by the cheering and everybody was just playing so hard. So I thought I had to do the same as well."

Ramirez, who had earlier tied the game with a two-run double in the top of the sixth, came through with his second clutch hit in the extra frame, driving in Julio Lugo and David Ortiz. Jonathan Papelbon worked the bottom half of the 10th to earn the save.

Street (0-1) took the loss after allowing three runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Matsuzaka didn't factor into the decision and looked like he would leave the field a loser after an erratic first.

After retiring leadoff man Travis Buck, Matsuzaka gave up a 120-meter homer to Mark Ellis that gave Oakland an early advantage.

The Red Sox hurler then went through an awful stretch, walking Daric Barton, hitting Jack Cust with a pitch, allowing the runners to advance on a wild pitch to Emil Brown and walking Brown, to load the bases.

Matsuzaka then gave up a run on a Bobby Crosby groundout before striking out Hannahan to end the inning.

"I did feel anxious in the early part of the game," Matsuzaka said. "But I think I was a little bit overly cautious because of my tendency to start slow and I think from my next start on I'd like to be a little more assertive in the first few innings."

The Japanese star settled down as the game wore on and retired 10 of the last 11 batters he faced, striking out four.

"I felt my calf tightening up a little bit in the second inning," Matsuzaka said. "Which turned out to be a good thing. Because that allowed me to relax. I think that helped things get better from the third inning onward."

Matsuzaka left the game after giving up two runs on two hits and struck out six in five innings of work. He was erratic early on, giving up five walks, hitting a batter and throwing a wild pitch.

Despite his early troubles, Matsuzaka found himself in position to pick up the win after Boston chased Oakland starter Joe Blanton in a three-run sixth.

Second baseman Dustin Pedroia led off the inning with a double and Kevin Youkilis followed with a walk to give Boston two on with none out. Ramirez took full advantage of the opportunity, driving in both runs with a double down the left-field line. Moss put Boston ahead later in the inning with an RBI single to make the score 3-2.

Blanton, who was relieved by Alan Embree in the sixth, gave up all three runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.