Boston Opens Up a Pair Of Surprises: Dice-K Wins Red Sox, Celtics Crush LeBron

King James left his court to boos in what might have been his last home game with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

I expected Daisuke Matsuzaka to struggle once again for the Boston Red Sox in his start against the Toronto Blue Jays.

I expected the Boston Celtics to fall to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game Five of their second round playoff series.

To my amazement, neither prediction came to fruition. I was delighted by the former failed premonition, but disappointed by the latter.

In his first two starts spanning 10 innings, Matsuzaka allowed 11 earned runs. In both outings, he was done in by a pair of very poor innings: A six-run fifth inning against Baltimore and a four-run first against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

But against the Angels, he settled down nicely after that rough opening frame by allowing just one run over the next 4.1 innings.

Despite having something to build from entering his third appearance of the season, little did I know his effective completion to that performance would carry over into his meeting with the Blue Jays.

His control has been spotty throughout his tenure with the Red Sox, but it was pinpoint tonight.

His fastball was especially baffling. The velocity was high and the movement was substantial. He used the fastball more often than not, and it set up his wide array of offspeed pitches.

This was the Matsuzaka that went 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 2008.

He received early run support as two runs were manufactured through outs made by Victor Martinez and J.D. Drew in the first inning.

A third run was staked in the second frame on blast by Jason Varitek, who, in hitting his sixth homer high over the Green Monster, continued his torrid beginning to 2010.

He struck out the side in the top of the third, and then struck out another in a perfect fourth.

In the dugout, he watched as another run was tacked on, this time on a RBI-double off the bat of Darnell McDonald, who was performed valiantly in the stead of the still-injured Jacoby Ellsbury.

Four runs to work with, but despite Matsuzaka’s stellar performance so far, I hardly expected it to continue.

Surely, the Blue Jays would put up a crooked number as the Orioles and Angels did, right?

Miraculously, I was wrong, as for the first time in a long time, Matsuzaka managed to put together a relatively mistake-free outing.

He exited after seven innings having allowed only one run on three hits. He struck out nine and walked one. With the struggles of John Lackey and Josh Beckett, more outings like this would be more than welcome in Beantown.

The same can be said for the Celtics.

In Cleveland, with star forward Paul Pierce struggling, and with LeBron James on the other side, I gave Boston’s NBA franchise little chance of pulling out the win.

Celtics guard Rajon Rondo has been insanely good this series. In Game Four, the 6’1″ guard scored 29 points, grabbed 18 rebounds, and dished 13 assists.

I didn’t believe he could even come close to duplicating that performance, especially since it was rumored that James, all 6’8″, 260 lbs. of him, would handle the task of defending him in Game Five.

James did what was rumored in stretches, and Rondo was held without a point or assist in a painfully boring first half.

This would seem to be good news for the Cavaliers, right? Not exactly.

James was similarly missing in action, as he failed to even make a field goal in the opening 24 minutes.

Rondo’s supporting cast outplayed LeBron, and after Cleveland had jumped out to an early lead, a 29-21 deficit turned into a 37-29 advantage. Boston carried that momentum and led by six at halftime.

James continued to struggle in the third quarter as the Celtics cemented their supremacy. James harnessed his inner Joe Johnson, the Atlanta Hawks guard who was scrutinized heavily during and after four forgettable games against the Orlando Magic.

Johnson had most likely played his final home game with the Hawks in Game Four, as he is a free-agent.

James, who scored just 15 points on 3-14 shooting in Cleveland’s eventual 120-88 loss, could have also been playing his final game with his home-state team, as he is also a free-agent at season’s end.

Yes, Cleveland was outscored 70-44 in the second half at home in a must-win.

James and his Cavaliers were booed heavily late, and clearly rightfully so.

Before this night of Boston sports began, I thought if anyone was to be booed it would have been Matsuzaka, as I had little faith that he could muster anything resembling the 2008 version.

Boy, was I wrong.

Both Boston’s won, doing so in surprising fashion. And now, considering the Celtics take a 3-2 series lead back home and the Red Sox, with their third-straight win, move two games over .500 for the first time, the city can joyously celebrated a night full of victories.

As for me, I’m only jumping for joy over one, the one that continued to steer the Red Sox ship in the right direction. Not the other that has Cleveland’s ship sinking.