Papelbon bullish on 'pen

But he says unit must prove self

FORT MYERS, Fla. - The seven pitchers likely to be in the Red Sox bullpen at the start of the regular season have thrown 13 innings this spring, and - with the caveat that March barely has arrived - they appear to be a potential strength of the club.

Buoyed by new additions Takashi Saito and Ramon Ramirez, the seven primary relievers have allowed one run and six hits in those 13 innings, the lone run and three of the hits surrendered by Javier Lopez.

The most integral - and outspoken - member of the bullpen debuted yesterday. Closer Jonathan Papelbon retired all three batters he faced in his first outing of the spring, throwing mostly fastballs over 10 pitches, eight of which were strikes. Afterward, Papelbon said he had not yet seen any of his new bullpen mates throw, and he reminded them their high expectations mean nothing until the season begins.

"I know on paper we look really good and we look like we have a lot of firepower in that bullpen," Papelbon said. "But we looked really good on paper last year. We've got a lot of things to prove. It's not just, throw a bunch of names out there and expect to win. We've got a lot of things to work on and a lot of things to prove."

Papelbon started strong himself in a 2-1 victory over the Twins at Hammond Stadium, throwing with control and careful not to allow his adrenaline to spike. He threw his fastball up to 94 miles per hour and threw a pair of splitters to the final batter he faced, Nick Punto.

"I basically wanted to go out there and just pound the strike zone," Papelbon said. "I felt like my first time out there, all I really needed to do was just go out there and keep my legs underneath me and just pound the strike zone. I felt like I was able to do that. So, I feel good about my first outing."

Papelbon, who thrives on energy during the regular season, made sure he ramped himself down. Manager Terry Francona said Papelbon, 28 and entering his fourth full season, is experienced enough to regulate himself.

"The biggest thing for me is to be able to control my adrenaline in my spring games, not go out there and, in my first few outings, go out there and try to blow people away," Papelbon said. "I want to go out there and perfect my delivery. For me, being able to take the spring and use it to get to 110 percent that last week, or that last outing, is what's going to be key for me."

An example came during the Punto at-bat. With the count 1-2, Punto fouled off an outside fastball, sending a screamer toward the third base dugout. Normally, Papelbon said, he would not have thrown consecutive fastballs. But "I'm working on things," he said. He felt as though he tailed off in his delivery when he threw the fastball Punto fouled off, and he wanted to be sure he executed the pitch correctly.

"I didn't care what the outcome was," Papelbon said. "I wanted to make sure that I was able to drive that pitch where I wanted it."

So Papelbon fired another heater. Punto lined the pitch softly to left field, where Paul McAnulty made a sliding catch, and Papelbon was finished for the afternoon. He is scheduled to pitch again Thursday, against Puerto Rico's World Baseball Classic squad, and plans on making 8-12 appearances this spring.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, training with the Japanese WBC team, threw three scoreless innings in relief against the Yomiuri Giants at the Tokyo Dome. He surrendered one hit and two walks while striking out two. Matsuzaka threw 32 pitches, 20 for strikes.

The Red Sox keep tabs on Matsuzaka in Japan through team massage therapist Takanori Maeda, whose access to Matsuzaka "has been limited," Francona said. Maeda gives updates to interpreter Masa Hoshino, who relays them to pitching coach John Farrell, who relays them to Francona.

"So there's a few channels," Francona said. "There's no other way to do it. We can't go over there and watch. And it's their team. I'll be glad when he's back and throwing the ball well. There's no other way to get around it."

Francona has spoken with managers of other WBC teams about the workload of Red Sox players, and he offered a line of communication with Japan's manager, Tatsunori Hara.

"There didn't seem to be a lot of interest," Francona said. "So we didn't push it. You hope you're talking to somebody, it's almost like a partner. And if it doesn't come across as that, it doesn't do any good just to offend somebody."

Josh Beckett, who threw two innings against Boston College Tuesday, faced major leaguers yesterday, retiring all six Twins he faced with 29 pitches, 18 strikes. Beckett recorded five ground-ball outs, and only one ball left the infield off him.

Beckett did such quick work he thought he might have to pitch a third inning, even though he was scheduled for two. He also didn't get to focus on his changeup as much as he planned, because counts in which to throw it rarely arose.

"You go out there to get six outs, you only face six guys, that's pretty good," Beckett said. "I asked Tito how many pitches it was. I was just going to make sure it was over 22. It was. Just didn't want to go backwards."

Kevin Youkilis, in his final game with the Red Sox before joining the United States WBC team, clobbered a home run to right-center, his first of the spring, off Craig Breslow. It came as something of a relief for him, as before the game he was asked about the progression of his swing this spring. "I'm trying to feel better," he said, "but it's been pretty much horse manure." . . . Francona was asked if he would have liked to play in the WBC if it existed when he played. "I don't think I'd have been invited," he quipped . . . The Red Sox evened the Mayor's Cup series at 1-1. "I think we sent a message," Francona joked . . . Jed Lowrie will play third base for the next few days, Francona said, next to Julio Lugo, the man with whom he is competing to start at shortstop. Francona also said Lowrie has the ability to play first base, but he won't play him there for fear of overloading him.

Adam Kilgore can be reached at akilgore@globe.com