ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Unhittable most of the game, Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Boston Red Sox taught Tampa Bay all about dominant postseason pitching.

Matsuzaka took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning and the defending World Series champions played a little better in every way, beating the Rays 2-0 Friday night in the opener of the AL championship series.

Jed Lowrie snapped a scoreless tie a sacrifice fly and Kevin Youkilis drove home another run with a seventh-inning double off left fielder Carl Crawford's glove as the playoff-savvy Red Sox beat baseball's best home team on its own turf.