Wallace Slams O's in Astro Win; Dice-K Sharp for Beantown

Players of the Day for Tuesday, March 15, 2010

American League

It took Boston and Detroit 10 innings to settle their differences, with the Red Sox coming out on top, 2-1.

Daisuke Matsuzaka

Tigers' starter Justin Verlander and Boston starter Daisuke Matsuzaka (Dice-K) hooked up in a fine pitching duel, with Verlander gong 5 1/3 innings, surrendering a run in the 4th frame. Matsuzaka went five full, allowed just two hits, fanned five and issued one walk.

Sidelined parts of the past two seasons with injuries, Matsuzaka went 9-6 with the Red Sox in 2010, but seeks to regain his 2008 form, when he went 18-3 with a 2.80 ERA, holding opposing batters to a .211 batting average.

The Red Sox improved to 11-8 in the Grapefruit League with the win. Detroit is in third place with a 13-8 record.

Brett Wallace

National League

Brett Wallace played in 51 games for the Houston Astros in 2010, almost all of them after the organization let Lance Berkman go to the Yankees in late July. Wallace wasn't very impressive, batting .222 with two homers and 16 RBI, but in Tuesday's 14-8 win over the Orioles, Wallace unloaded on Baltimore pitching, going 4-for-5 with two doubles and a grand slam home run, driving in seven runs for the Astros.

While Wallace had a great day at the plate, he'll need to keep it up in order to become Houston's regular first baseman. In 12 Spring games, he's batting .350, so he's on the right path.