"Red Sox manager Terry Francona was asked Monday if he was starting to feel concerned about Daisuke Matsuzaka's rough spring. Francona's answer was illuminating.

"If I took Daisuke out of the rotation tomorrow," Francona said, "I wouldn't want to play for me."

Francona was talking about his approach to spring training performances in general, but the statement certainly applied to Matsuzaka, who justified his manager's confidence yesterday.

Facing a Detroit lineup featuring many of its regulars, Matsuzaka limited the Tigers to two hits in five scoreless innings of a 2-1 Sox victory at Joker Marchant Stadium. The right-hander struck out five and walked only one while attacking the strike zone with a fervor he often lacks.

"He pounded the strike zone," Francona said. "From the first pitch of the game, he threw all of his pitches for strikes, and it's amazing how that opens up the plate. When you're ahead in the count, they start chasing breaking balls instead of spitting on them."

During a spring that has seen precious little go wrong for the Red Sox, the struggles of Matsuzaka represented one story line generating concern. He began the day 0-1 with an 11.42 ERA and had particularly struggled in his previous two outings, allowing 12 runs in 62/3 innings.

Francona stood by him, however, as Monday's comment attested.

"That was more of a broad statement," Francona said yesterday. "I don't put a lot of stock in somebody's ERA. I don't think he had pitched particularly well the last two outings, but that doesn't mean he's going to have a bad year. Sometimes you've got to slow people down a little bit."

Matsuzaka seems to be meshing well with new pitching coach Curt Young, for whom he has adjusted his between-starts routine and also his in-game approach."