There usually aren't any mulligans in professional sports. Yet during this homestand, two Red Sox pitchers are getting the chance to redeem themselves. Jon Lester and Daisuke Matsuzaka got do-overs, just like you did when you played Wiffle ball in the backyard as a kid.

Lester made the most of his. Rained out after 23 pitches on Friday night, Lester forgot all about loading the bases in the first inning of the game. Starting fresh on Sunday, he pitched eight scoreless innings as the Sox finished off a doubleheader sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays with a 4-0 victory.

Now, it's Dice-K's turn. He takes the mound tonight to face the Los Angeles Angels, the best-hitting club in the major leagues.

This is an Angels team hitting .287, a team that earlier this season posted a lineup with all nine starters hitting .300 or better.

It is one of the final questions remaining for the 2009 Boston Red Sox: Can Matsuzaka help them this season?

If the Sox think the answer is yes after tonight, he'll get another three starts to tune up for the postseason. If not, the next time he'll pitch in a meaningful game will be in Fort Myers, Fla., next March.

Not many teams could handle the loss of an 18-game winner. And make no mistake; it has been a lost 2009 season for Matsuzaka.

He takes the mound with exactly one win and a grand total of 35 major league innings pitched. He started the baseball year as the MVP of the World Baseball Classic, but has been a classic bust since then.

At the start of this season, the top three pitchers in the Boston rotation were expected to carry the load. Josh Beckett, Lester and Matsuzaka combined for 46 wins last year. It was a 1-2-3 punch few teams could match.

But suddenly, the Sox have been trying to survive with a just a 1-2 punch. It's a pretty good left-right combo, too. The Sox are 40-18 when lefty Lester and righty Beckett pitch. By the time it was apparent Matsuzaka wasn't going to be a major asset to this year's team, Tim Wakefield was winning 11 of 15 decisions before the All-Star break. It wasn't until he went down with an injury that we learned how big a blow the loss of Dice-K was.

There were plenty of lessons for Matsuzaka to learn, too. He didn't show up in good enough shape, he overdid it at the WBC and he criticized the Red Sox for their differing opinions on how he should pitch.

Now, after throwing 89 pitches in a Class A playoff game last Wednesday, he's back on the mound, facing the Angels in what very possibly could be a preview of an American League division series.

"(He) got away from the guy that we had signed for a few different reasons," Manager Terry Francona said. "I think what we're hoping to do is see closer to the stuff we saw when we signed him. You might not see the exact same stuff, I don't know if that's fair, but closer to it."

For most of the season, Matsuzaka couldn't be anything further from the pitcher who has won 63 percent of his decisions since becoming a big leaguer in a deal that cost the Sox $103 million. Even when he has been successful, he has been frustrating for Sox fans. He nibbles, he gets his pitch count up and he can't go deeply into games.

With their pitching depth (thank you, Clay Buchholz), the Sox have allowed Matsuzaka to hit the reset button on his season. They shut him down, had him start from scratch and let him build up his fitness and arm strength in hopes he can return to form. The fruits of their labor will be on display tonight.

Matsuzaka turned 29 over the weekend. You don't get many second chances in life, but he's been given a big one by the Red Sox. He's been called a national treasure. Now it's time he proves himself worthy of the title.

Tom Caron is the studio host for Red Sox broadcasts on the New England Sports Network. His column appears in the Press Herald on Tuesdays.