The Tampa Bay Rays (29-20) have one of the greatest home run hitters in professional baseball history in their lineup on Tuesday. LF Hideki Matsui is hitting sixth against the Chicago White Sox (27-22), and the 10-year MLB veteran and 10-year NPB veteran (Japan's premier baseball league) made his Rays hitting debut in the bottom of the second inning, facing SP Phillip Humber with 1 out.
Working the count to 1-1, Matsui hit a skyscraper fly ball to left field off a slider from Humber, but the ball landed in LF Dayan Viciedo's glove before reaching the warning track.
Matsui owns 173 career MLB home runs and 901 homers in Japan. The 38-year-old outfielder did not hit particularly well in Triple-A Durham over the last month, but the Rays liked his approach and felt his numbers would improve with time.
Read more about the Rays at DRaysBay. For more in-depth coverage on the other side, visit White Sox blog South Side Sox. Go to Baseball Nation for additional news and notes around the league.