Matsui gets big hits in Yanks' playoff run

He's batting well over .300 and has a couple homers in October.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Look who's leading the way in the middle of the Yankees' lineup.
Hideki Matsui wasn't around for any of those 26 World Series championships -- but he's a big reason they might take home No. 27.
The Japanese slugger hit a three-run homer in the first inning Sunday night, and New York evened the World Series at a game apiece with a 6-1 victory over the Florida Marlins.
"I didn't know how good he was going to be," winning pitcher Andy Pettitte said. "He's a better outfielder than I think everybody expected him to be. He's been a great addition to our team. He's been awesome for us. He's stepping up right now in the postseason and that's great to see."
The Yankees also got big games from a pair of guys who had been slumping. Leadoff man Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run shot for his first home run since September, and Nick Johnson had three hits to raise his postseason average to .213.
Matsui, meanwhile, has made a habit of getting big hits during his first taste of October pressure in New York, pacing the Yankees in several key offensive categories.
Godzilla
The player nicknamed Godzilla is batting .327 with two homers, 10 RBIs and four doubles in 13 postseason games. He went 3-for-4 in the opener against Florida, and his two-strike double off Boston ace Pedro Martinez keyed an eighth-inning comeback in Game 7 of the AL championship series.
With the home run Sunday, Matsui extended his postseason hitting streak to six games.
"Even going into this postseason and this World Series, I just took the same approach," he said through a translator.
But there's no doubt, Matsui is at his best in the big moments.
He hit a grand slam in his Yankee Stadium debut, an RBI single in his first major league at-bat and even homered in his first big league spring training game.
Now he's performing on baseball's biggest stage.
"It's the first time I had a chance to see him in person. He's a pretty good player," Marlins manager Jack McKeon said.
Got green light
Jason Giambi was hit by a pitch in the first and went to third on Bernie Williams' single, bringing up Matsui with two outs.
Confident in Matsui's mature approach at the plate, manager Joe Torre let him swing away on a 3-0 count, and he sent Mark Redman's fastball over the 408-foot sign in center field for a 3-0 lead.
"Everybody in the dugout, including myself and Redman, was surprised that he swung," Florida catcher Ivan Rodriguez said.
Fans were chanting Matsui's name as he went back out to his position in left field for the second inning. Williams, the center fielder, tipped his cap toward Matsui, who tipped his right back. He is the first Japanese player to hit a home run in the World Series.
"By the time we left spring training, Don Zimmer and I both thought he'd hit .300 and drive in 100 runs," Torre said. "He has a very solid swing, plus the fact that he knows how to hit. What I mean by that, he knows how to hit in situations. To me, that's more important than a lot of ability maybe somebody else might have."
It's been a big year all around for the 29-year-old Matsui, a huge celebrity in Japan. Some say he's as big back home as Michael Jordan is in the United States.
"It's very difficult to compare the two; very different environments," Matsui said. "But as far as myself, I'm just, again, taking the same mental approach and generally just the same preparation that I've done over there."
A three-time Central League MVP during a 10-year career with the Yomiuri Giants, he signed a $21 million, three-year contract with the Yankees in January.