Trio does bang-up job in heart of the lineup

BOSTON -- Don’t expect the Angels to shed any tears over another team’s injury problems, not with an ailing Gary Matthews Jr. and Bartolo Colon unavailable for the Boston series and Chone Figgins and Garret Anderson playing with ailments.

But the fact is the Red Sox also entered the American League division series uncertain about how three of their key sluggers -- first baseman Kevin Youkilis, designated hitter David Ortiz and left fielder Manny Ramirez -- would hold up after missing significant playing time during September.

All three provided answers in their first at-bats Wednesday with Youkilis hitting a home run over the Green Monster in left and Ortiz and Ramirez following with singles.

Two innings later, Ortiz followed a Youkilis double with a home run of his own and the trio finished five for 10 with three runs batted in, four runs scored and a pair of walks.

“The best thing about it is it’s playoff time and adrenaline helps the most,” said Youkilis, who missed seven games after being hit on the wrist with a pitch in mid-September. “I feel like I’m progressing well. The wrist doesn’t hurt as much now.”

Ortiz, battling a sore right knee, took a cortisone shot several days ago and said that helped -- even if the experience was not enjoyable.

“I was a little afraid because that big old needle is coming through your knee. It’s not fun to see,” said Ortiz, whose playoff heroics -- he’s batting .405 with eight homers and 26 RBIs in his last 21 postseason games -- inspired teammate Mike Lowell to change his nickname from Big Papi to Huge Papi. “But the pain has been going, thank God.”

Ramirez, who missed 24 games in the last five weeks because of a strained left oblique muscle, has hit in 20 of his last 21 postseason games with four doubles, five homers and 16 RBIs.

If you think Daisuke Matsuzaka is deceptive on the mound you should have seen him at Wednesday’s meeting with the media, where he took five questions and, through interpreter Masa Hoshino, gave one-sentence answers to four of them.

Nerves may have had something to do with that. Although Matsuzaka has pitched in pressure games before -- he beat Cuba in the title game of the first World Baseball Classic -- he struggled down the stretch, winning only two of his last nine starts for the Red Sox to finish 15-12 with a 4.40 earned-run average.

“And now he’s going to the playoffs. That’s another step,” said Sohta Kimura of the Kyodo News Service, one of approximately 50 Japanese reporters credentialed to cover Matsuzaka’s Game 2 start on Friday, which will also be carried on national TV in Japan.

With Josh Beckett mowing down the Angels, former Dodger J.D Drew didn’t have much to do in right field. In fact, he didn’t touch the ball all night.

“I warmed up between innings,” Drew said with a laugh.

kevin.baxter@latimes.com