Matsuzaka ended the season with an 18–3 record, 2.90 ERA and held opponents to a .211 batting average (and 6.9 hits-per-9-innings), the lowest in the majors. He also led the AL by leaving 80.6 percent of the baserunners he allowed stranded. These numbers were enough to place him 4th in the American League Cy Young Award race. However, a major problem for Matsuzaka was the control of his pitches, which, combined with his lack of innings pitched due to his injury, factored into his Cy Young voting. He walked 94 batters in 167 and 2/3 innings (a major-league-leading 13.1% of all batters he faced), even walking an eye-popping eight in one game against the Detroit Tigers on May 5. Eight times in the 2008 season, Matsuzaka surrendered walks to five or more batters in a game, and 12 times he walked three or more in a game. The interesting statistic is that Matsuzaka was 11–1 in the 16 starts he walked three or more batters, which was a testament to his ability to wiggle out of whatever trouble he got himself into.