All eyes will be on Daisuke Matsuzaka when he strolls out of the bullpen and onto the mound for his first taste of Grapefruit League action as the Red Sox host the Florida Marlins.
Matsuzaka is expected to pitch in relief of starter Tim Wakefield in the second meeting between the two teams this spring. He has been slowly working his way back from a neck strain.
WHEN AND WHERE
1:05 p.m. ET, March 25, 2010
City of Palms Park, Fort Myers, Fla.
RECORDS
Marlins (11-10)
Red Sox (10-12)
HEAD TO HEAD
The teams have not met since March 9, when Wakefield threw the first three innings of a 9-0 Red Sox win.
Red-hot Josh Reddick had three hits and an RBI in the game.
LINEUPS
Red Sox
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, 2B
Marlins
TBA
PITCHING MATCHUP
RHP Chris Volstad (1-0, 6.57 ERA) vs. RHP Tim Wakefield (2-1, 3.29 ERA)
The starters are just the undercard in this one, as Matsuzaka is scheduled to get three innings in relief. His fastball topped out at around 91 mph in a scrimmage with Red Sox minor leaguers last week.
STAT SHEET
Red Sox
Reddick ripped his team-leading seventh double Wednesday in Bradenton.
Outfielder Jeremy Hermida is 14-for-35 (.400).
Reliever Joe Nelson‘s 12 strikeouts rank third on the team behind Josh Beckett and Jon Lester, who are tied with 14 apiece.
Marlins
Second baseman Dan Uggla is 7-for-43 (.163) with 14 strikeouts.
Shortstop Hanley Ramirez has seven doubles. No other Marlin has more than three.
Ricky Nolasco has struck out 19 and walked none this spring.
BLACK AND BLUE
Red Sox
Second baseman Dustin Pedroia had no damage to his left wrist after X-rays Wednesday. He hurt it when he landed awkwardly diving for a ball in the first inning Tuesday.
There are no new updates on starter/reliever Boof Bonser, who has not had any activity since suffering a strained groin Monday against Tampa Bay.
Marlins
Catcher John Baker returned Saturday from a forearm injury and went 2-for-2 against the Nationals.
OVERHEARD
“Today was by far my best day in two weeks.”
–Red Sox starter Josh Beckett, after allowing a run in five innings in a win over Pittsburgh on Wednesday
PRESS BOX
Red Sox
An update on Mike Lowell.
Jacoby Ellsbury is still improving.
Marlins
Top prospect Mike Stanton was sent down to the minors.
A look at Ricky Nolasco‘s controlled spring training.
MLB
More troubles with the law for Dwight Gooden.
A heralded Royals prospect, Danny Duffy, leaves the team.
OUTLOOK
Two days after Clay Buchholz had a bit of a collapse on the mound, Matsuzaka will attempt to blur the picture at the back end of the rotation. He likely will need a few more starts and perhaps a DL stint to get them in order to catch up to the others in camp, but a smooth start in this one will go a long way to re-establishing the debate.
