Daisuke Matsuzaka allowed two runs in a Puerto Rican winter league start on Tuesday.
The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks right-hander, who is trying to rebuild his career in Japan, was pitching in his third game for Gigantes de Carolina. He allowed two runs on six hits over four innings in a 4-1 loss to league-leading Santurce. Matsuzaka struck out three and walked one.
"My body felt a little heavy, but I felt my condition was better than my previous game," Matsuzaka (0-3) said. "My fastball was the best it's been in three games."
Matsuzaka signed with SoftBank prior to the 2015 season, returning to Nippon Professional Baseball after spending eight seasons in the major leagues. However, injury has limited him to just one Pacific League game with the Hawks over two seasons.
The 36-year-old right-hander has been working without a windup in Puerto Rico, trying to pitch in on batters' hands. On Tuesday, he was able to jam right-handed hitters only for balls to go for hits.
Yomiuri Giants right-hander Hayato Takagi followed Matsuzaka to the mound and allowed a run on two hits over 2⅓ innings.
