Dice-K Dazzles, Sox beat Bucs 7-3

Daisuke Matsuzaka, making his third spring training start for the Boston Red Sox against big league competition, threw 5 2/3 innings allowing one hit -- a run-scoring single by Adam LaRoche in the first inning.

He walked one and struck out seven. He retired 15 of the final 16 batters he faced. Of his 92 pitches, 61 were strikes.

Pirate starter Tom Gorzelanny, looking a little slimmer since giving up beer, walked five and was charged with four runs in his 42/3 innings. Fair to say the spring has not been kind to Tommy, who's ERA ballooned to 9.60 after his work on Wednesday.

Ronny Paulino hit his third home run in the sixth inning. Andrew McCutchen doubled in a run in the eighth.

-Over at coolstandings.com, those kind folks are predicting the standings for the 2007 season based on the 2006 stats. It is kind of a funky setup, but for what it is worth, the Pirates are 45-72 through 117 games and are dead last in the NL Central.

-In this Spring Training Rumblings article on ESPN.com, Jayson Stark says that scouts have mentioned Ian Snell as a player who could really break out this season-In the same piece, Stark shared this info on Brad Eldred..."6-foot-5, 275-pound Pirates masher Brad Eldred has caused a stir among a few AL teams this spring with his .784 spring slugging percentage. "He's taken a step forward," says one scout. "He's starting to hit good fastballs. I've seen him against guys throwing 92-93-94, and he's gotten to it." But the Pirates are in no hurry to move Eldred, even though he's blocked at first base by Adam LaRoche. They've even tried him in right field this spring, and manager Jim Tracy says: "I've seen much worse [right fielders] playing in the major leagues."