Okajima part of Boston's early success

BOSTON -- The Red Sox can thank one of their new Japanese pitching stars for their early season success.

Reliever Hideki Okajima pitched two scoreless innings this past weekend against the Yankees and has a 0.71 ERA in 12 appearances.

And he's finally getting publicity after working in the shadows of another Red Sox rookie Japanese pitcher, Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Okajima is part of a bullpen that has a 0.09 ERA in the last 17 games. The Red Sox currently own the best record in the league.

Okajima has been a top setup man in the Japanese league for the last several years and was signed by the Red Sox in the off-season to a two-year, $2.5 million contract. 

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