Right off bat, Matsui leads Halos to win

Matsui drove in a pair of runs with a go-ahead RBI single in the fifth and a homer in the eighth, and Kendry Morales joined in with a solo blast and an RBI single in a 6-3 triumph over the Twins in front of 43,504 Monday night at Angel Stadium.

Jered Weaver prevailed with help from the bullpen -- Kevin Jepsen, Fernando Rodney and Brian Fuentes -- as the three-time reigning American League West champions claimed their sixth Opening Day win in the past seven seasons.

Matsui and Morales unloaded back-to-back against left-hander Jose Mijares, bringing the fans out of their seats. But it was an at-bat in the fifth against Twins starter Scott Baker that gave Matsui the most satisfaction.

Giving his new team the lead for keeps, Matsui slammed a two-out, 0-2 pitch to right field for an RBI single, bringing home Erick Aybar and sending Hunter to third.

That parlay of aggression and timely hitting was Angels baseball at its finest -- not that there was anything wrong with the thunder provided by the M, M and M men.

Matsui, Morales and catcher Jeff Mathis all went deep, Mathis' second-inning blast on the first pitch he saw of the 2010 season handing Weaver a 3-2 lead.

"Both of them were important in terms of getting a run and putting the team in a comfortable position," Matsui said through Roger Kahlon's translation. "If you want to compare, probably the hit was more important than the home run.

"That was my third at-bat, and I was starting to get a feel for [Baker]. He made a tough pitch inside, and I put a decent swing on it and hit it foul [hooking it outside the right-field pole]. Then I got another pitch I was able to put a good swing on, and we got a run as a result."

Matsui being Matsui.

"That was pretty impressive," said Hunter, who walked twice in front of the new cleanup man. "I knew, this being his first day, he wanted to do something special. Whenever you come to a new team, you want to show something.

"That was a release for Hideki. When he got that single, I was pumped for him. Then when he hit that home run, it cleared the air, took the monkey off his back. He can have fun now."

Weaver, yielding three earned runs through six innings, claimed the win. He had a huge noontime crowd watching in Japan, where the game was shown on live TV between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tuesday. There were 104 Japanese media members tracking Matsui's Angels debut.

"It's really nice to have him on our side," Weaver said. "Any time you can add a guy who has put some hurt on you during the season and add to your team, it's always key. He's one of those guys who comes up in key situations and gets big hits."

This was what manager Mike Scioscia had in mind when he wrote Matsui in the No. 4 spot between Hunter and Morales in a potentially lethal lineup.

"I don't think you are able to achieve as much as Hideki has been able to achieve," Scioscia said, "especially crossing leagues, continents whatever you want to call it, if you don't keep yourself in great shape.

"He understands the league and what his role is. He knows his role in the clubhouse. He fits in with guys like Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu, and is a great influence on guys like Kendry Morales, Erick Aybar and Brandon Wood.

"We're thrilled to have him. It's important he got off to a great start like he did tonight. Hopefully, we'll keep this deep lineup together and keep doing it on the offensive end."

After Matsui had cashed in Aybar, who reached safely in three of four at-bats, Weaver escaped a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the sixth when he retired Delmon Young on a lazy fly ball with his final delivery.

Jepsen also left the bases loaded in the seventh, retiring Justin Morneau on a lineout to first. Rodney induced a double-play grounder from Young to close the eighth after missing with his first six pitches, and Fuentes rolled through the ninth.

Aybar's 10-pitch walk got the Angels started against Baker in the first, leading to RBI singles by Morales and Juan Rivera.

The Twins tied it the second on Young's two-run blast to left. Mathis gave the lead back to Weaver with a bullet over the wall in center.

Weaver, who struck out six through four innings, surrendered a tying run in the fifth when Young beat out a slow roller, stole second, moved up on a grounder and scored on Nick Punto's sacrifice fly.

Aybar's infield hit and Hunter's two-out walk on a full count preceded Matsui's single to right. Matsui had an encore in store, going deep to right-center against Mijares to set off a major celebration in his homeland.

It might not have been Game 6 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium, but it was another night to remember for the Japanese legend.