Angels’ Hideki Matsui does more than hit

Reporting from Glendale, Ariz. — 

Hideki Matsui’s debut in left field turned out to be much ado about nothing.

The Angels’ regular designated hitter stood on the grass under a brilliant sun for four innings and played a little catch with center fielder Torii Hunter. But he never had to field a ball in play during the Angels’ 4-2 win over the Dodgers on Monday.

“He ran on and off the field well,” Hunter said when asked his assessment.

The real test will come Tuesday morning when Matsui tries to get out of bed on his balky knees after playing in the field for the first time since June 2008.

“We’re going to be watching him very closely,” Manager Mike Scioscia said.

Scioscia likes to rotate his regular outfielders through the DH slot, getting them off their feet for a day while still keeping their bats in the lineup. To make that work, he needs Matsui healthy enough to take occasional turns in left.

And the slugger, who came to the Angels from the New York Yankees as a free agent over the winter, says that could help him at the plate as well.

“I feel like it has a positive effect, staying on the field all the time,” Matsui said through a translator. “When you’re on the field all the time you’re always watching the game. You’re seeing everything. From a rhythm standpoint, mentally you’re in the game. Physically also.”

And though Matsui didn’t have to stop and ask for directions on his way to left field, it had been so long since he had played defense — 645 days, in fact — that he admitted it felt “a little weird.”

“A lot of thoughts went through my mind,” said Matsui, who Scioscia said could play the field again this week. “But what I was thinking also was this was normal for me to be out there on the field before.”

As he walked past the Dodgers dugout on his way to the clubhouse, he couldn’t resist teasing Dodgers Manager Joe Torre, who managed Matsui for five years with the Yankees.

“He asked me if I did that on purpose, not hitting him any balls in left field,” Torre said. “And I said I did.

“He’s a special guy. Right from the first time I met him. Great teammate, all that stuff. And I think the Angels are very lucky to have him.”

The other left fielder

After Matsui left in the fifth inning, two of the first four Dodgers hit the ball at or over new left fielder Michael Ryan. But two innings later Ryan joined Matsui on the sidelines after colliding with shortstop Gary Patchett trying to chase down a Blake DeWitt popup.

Ryan, who is hitting a team-high.391, had a swollen cheek and Scioscia said he may need stitches above one eye. Patchett remained in the game.

kevin.baxter@latimes.com