Manager Terry Francona said that Matsuzaka was held to two innings and 25 pitches in order to bring him back in short fashion. He will throw three innings Monday in relief of Josh Beckett when the Sox host Tampa Bay.
As for Wakefield, it's all systems go. He will go Tuesday but it remains to be seen for how long. With a string of off-days early in the season, it would make sense to give him a full outing. We don't know when we'll see Wakefield after that.
Wakefield himself said he had not been told a single thing about how and when he will be used once the regular season starts, but he's "very curious" to find out.
One injury note. Boof Bonser came through his agility drills just fine and will throw a side session in two days.
That is all from City of Palms Park, until early tomorrow morning when we get set to welcome the Toronto Blue Jays to town. It is a 1:05 p.m. start and the blog will carry you through it. See you then.
Final, Red Sox 6-4: Tim Wakefield gets win No. 3 on the spring and the Sox win their second straight for the first time since March 13-14 in a game which sees the Grapefruit League debut for Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Matsuzaka threw just 25 pitches but is likely tossing more in the bullpen as we speak. He made 32 pitches in his appearance at the minor league complex five days ago.
We are off to hear from both him and Terry Francona. Back in a bit to wrap things up.
End 8th, Red Sox 6-4: Daisuke Matsuzaka does not come out for the ninth, as we were previously led to believe. Scott Atchison instead will attempt to finish this one off.
Matsuzaka gives up a run on two hits in two innings. We'll have plenty from him in a bit.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 6-4: There was a hard out and a comebacker that glanced off the glove of Daisuke Matsuzaka in the eighth, but he sets them down 1-2-3.
The righty will be out for one more, barring anything unforeseen.
End 7th, Red Sox 6-4: A two-out hit off Daisuke Matsuzaka gave the Marlins a run in the seventh, just as we were sitting down to talk to Wakefield.
As for the knuckleballer, he insisted he is as strong as ever and reiterated his confidence in being a part of the rotation.
We will have a few quotes from Wakefield in a moment. For now Matsuzaka is on for his second inning of work.
2:55 p.m.: Gotta go hear from Tim Wakefield.
End 6th, Red Sox 6-3: Now we have a major dilemma on our hands. Do we go and listen to Tim Wakefield or stay in the press box and watch Daisuke Matsuzaka pitch?
Feedback is welcome, although I think my mind is made up. I'll withhold my decision to keep up the suspense.
Oh, by the way, Marco Scutaro tripled in two runs in the sixth. He had just one RBI entering that at-bat.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 4-3: An otherwise solid outing for Tim Wakefield looks a little worse in the box score after a big inning by the Marlins in the sixth.
Five of Florida's six hits have gone for extra bases. Chris Coghlan doubled to start the sixth and came home on Dan Uggla's two-run blast to left.
After a walk, Wakefield gave up an RBI double to Mike Lamb.
Pitching coach John Farrell visited the mound to settle things down and Wakefield struck out Wes Helms to finish it.
That will do it for Wakefield. Six innings, six hits and three runs. Despite the way it ended, it was another positive step for him.
End 5th, Red Sox 4-0: The Sox have 10 hits already and several have been of the ear-ringing variety. Nobody's getting fooled.
They get three hits in the fifth. Jacoby Ellsbury singles and scores on a double by Victor Martinez. Kevin Youkilis has his second hit in as many innings to put runners on the corners.
Rick VandenHurk gets out of things from there.
More importantly, Tim Wakefield is back out there for sixth inning of work. The wait on Daisuke Matsuzaka continues.
2:18 p.m.: Marlins starter Chris Volstad's day is done. He is pulled with one out in the fifth and remains responsible for Jacoby Ellsbury at second base. Rick VandenHurk is on in relief.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 3-0: A double play helps Tim Wakefield cruise through the fifth in a span of a few minutes.
We cannot see the bullpen from our vantage point so it is hard to know if Daisuke Matsuzaka is warming. My guess is Wakefield will get one more although as I type that it looks like he is geting some congratulatory pats on the back from a few teammates. Perhaps the day is done.
End 4th, Red Sox 3-0: J.D. Drew can thank me for getting him started. Two innings after pointing out his paltry batting average, he plants one off the wall in center to bring in the Red Sox' first run.
Victor Martinez scored on the play. He got on to lead things off when new third baseman Hector Luna made an error. Kevin Youkilis singled to put runners on first and second and Martinez moved to third on a David Ortiz double play.
Adrian Beltre and Jeremy Hermida added RBI singles in the frame. They have two hits apiece. The Sox have seven. All the runs against Chris Volstad were unearned.
My apologies to Scott for failing to master the language. I'll keep working on it. You do the same.
Mid 4th, 0-0: Tim Wakefield has his first 1-2-3 inning, finishing it again with a strikeout.
Wakefield has fanned four in four innings and continues to have about as smooth a spring as one could ask for.
End 3rd, 0-0: This morning, Terry Francona talked a bit about the impact of Jeremy Hermida. We took a closer look at this several days ago, but Hermida's bat is making more and more noise as time goes by.
In the third, he followed a single by Adrian Beltre with a ringing double into the corner in left to improve to .417 (15-for-36) this spring. The hit moved Beltre to third but both runners were stranded when Bill Hall struck out, Jacoby Ellsbury grounded to third and Marco Scutaro popped to second.
Anyway, Francona had this to say about Hermida:
"I can see where he'll be one of our guys who hits a lot. He likes to swing the bat. It gives us a nice option if J.D. [Drew] goes down or [Mike Cameron] needs a day off. It's a nice left-handed bat."
Mid 3rd, 0-0: Tim Wakefield is using the strikeout to get himself out of a few tight situations.
Wakefield ended the first with his initial strikeout to strand a runner at second. The next inning he got the second out on a punch-out also with a man on second.
In the third, Wakefield allowed a leadoff double to Brian Barden, who moved to third on a ground ball to first. Cameron Maybin then flailed at a knuckleball to spoil an RBI opportunity. Dan Uggla grounded out and we remain scoreless.
End 2nd, 0-0: J.D. Drew lined out to left to end the second and got some good wood on it, but hits have been few and far in-between for him this spring.
Drew is now 4-for-27 (.148) with just one RBI in Grapefruit League play.
Mid 2nd, 0-0: OK, now we see Jacoby Ellsbury get the wheels going after he is erased on a pick-off in the first.
Ellsbury makes a dead sprint to the wall in left-center field to catch John Baker's bid for extra bases. One pitch later Mike Lamb doubles but Tim Wakefield keeps him right there with a strikeout of Wes Helms and a grounder off the bat of Bryan Petersen.
Wakefield will be worked up to 90 pitches or beyond, if all goes well. When asked, Terry Francona did not rule out having Wakefield go six innings and Daisuke Matsuzaka three, but a lot would have to happen for that to occur. Scott Atchison is also expected to get some work today.
End 1st, 0-0: Jacoby led off the bottom of the first with a drive over center fielder Cameron Maybin's head that looked for a moment as if it might yield a triple.
Alas, the ball took a high hop over the wall for a ground-rule double and seconds later Ellsbury was picked off second base. Somewhat deflating as we never got to see Ellsbury turn on the jets.
Mid 1st, 0-0: Marco Scutaro's first spring in a Red Sox uniform has been a bit quiet, what with a rather serious demeanor and a .161 average.
But the more we see of him the more we come to appreciate his glove. Scutaro had a reputation as a very good defensive player but until you see someone every day, it's hard to tell.
In the past few days he has made a series of plays up the middle look effortless. The game started with one such play as he threw across his body to get Chris Coghlan.
There was a walk and the requisite stolen base against Tim Wakefield in the first, but the old knuckleballer fanned Jorge Cantu to end it.
12:15 p.m.: The Marlins' lineup bring a handful of regulars to Fort Myers, but there is no Hanley Ramirez.
Terry Francona was asked about the one-time Red Sox prospect earlier Thursday.
"He got good quick. He was certainly on our radar as a huge prospect. Maybe he got his chance quicker because he was with the Marlins. He took advantage of it and become one of the elite players in the game…The trade worked out for both teams. We got players who helped us win the World Series."
Without Ramirez, Florida sends out this lineup:
Chris Coghlan, LF
Cameron Maybin, CF
Dan Uggla, 2B
Jorge Cantu, 3B
John Baker, C
Mike Lamb, DH
Wes Helms, 1B
Bryan Petersen, RF
Brian Barden, SS
Starting pitcher Chris Volstad is fighting for a spot in the Marlins' rotation. He had a 5.21 ERA in 29 starts last year and has struggled this spring, allowing nine runs on 19 hits in just 12 1/3 innings.
10:56 a.m.: As the Red Sox take batting practice on the field below, here are a few updates from the desk of Terry Francona.
- Dustin Pedroia has no limitations with his injured left wrist and will likely be back in the lineup Friday against Toronto.
"He'll drive everybody crazy if we don't," Francona said.
- Boof Bonser is throwing long toss and will undergo some agility drills before possibly lining up a bullpen session. He was seen moving pretty well when the Sox did some relay and cut-off drills a moment ago.
- Daisuke Matsuzaka will probably follow Tim Wakefield in Thursday's game but it will depend on a few things. For one, they won't bring Matsuzaka into the middle of an inning.
- Mike Lowell should get into back-to-back games this week with a start at first base Friday and one at designated hitter Saturday.
- Alan Embree is slated to throw in a game Saturday. He tossed 12 pitches in a 1-2-3 inning at the minor league complex Wednesday.
- The skies have parted a bit for the team in general after the craziness of the early part of the week. With four of the next five games at home and no more split-squad games lined up, Francona can focus on a handful of necessary drills.
"We can have a good work day today, do some cutoff and relays which we need to do," Francona noted.
"Tomorrow is a little bit sketchy. We have the player association meetings so we're kinda at their mercy when we get out there. But we'll take every home game this week and we'll try to get something accomplished and fundamental just to tighten up as the group gets smaller. We'll try to make sure we do something."
- Finally, a note on the Opening Day starter. We referenced Wednesday that Josh Beckett was lined up to get the ball against the Yankees on April 4, but no announcement has been made. However, Francona had a bit of a slip that unintentionally backed up that assessment.
In analyzing the roster for the one game in Washington the Sox have to play April 3, the day before Opening Day, Francona said this:
"Everybody's on board, I think even Beckett."
After taking some ribbing for perhaps spilling the beans, Francona said that no decision has been made and he still wants to see how the last week goes and then talk to his pitching staff before making any kind of an announcement.
"When we announce something we want our guys to know why. We just don't know yet. We'll get there. It doesn't have to be a big secret and I don't mean it to be like that. I just feel more comfortable talking to our guys and letting them understand how and why things are going to work."
9:10 a.m.: Dustin Pedroia was seen smiling in the Red Sox clubhouse and with just a small wrap on his left wrist. He did take leave with a bat to likely take a few cuts.
Pedroia will not be in the lineup, as expected. Bill Hall will get a rare look at second base. The starting nine looks like this:
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Marco Scutaro, SS
Victor Martinez, C
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
J.D. Drew, RF
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Jeremy Hermida, LF
Bill Hall, SS
8:01 a.m.: All eyes will be on Daisuke Matsuzaka when he gets his first Grapefruit League outing Thursday against the Florida Marlins at City of Palms Park.
Matsuzaka, whose progress has been hampered by a sore neck this spring, is scheduled to throw three innings in relief of Tim Wakefield. The Japanese righty retired seven of eight hitters in an intrasquad scrimmage at the Red Sox Player Development Complex last week.
It will be his first action against major league hitters since last season.
We do not expect to see second baseman Dustin Pedroia in the lineup, although X-rays taken Wednesday revealed no major issues in his left wrist. Pedroia suffered a minor sprain in the wrist Tuesday night against Minnesota.
The Marlins, who dropped a 9-0 decision to Wakefield and the Red Sox earlier this spring, start Chris Volstad.
First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.
