It is only the start of a long season but these pitchers health will weigh heavily on their respective teams success.  Check out the updates below.

-Red Sox right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka took his first step toward a possible return to Boston by pitching five pain-free, scoreless innings Saturday against Rochester as he began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket.  Matsuzaka, who’s been on Boston’s disabled list since April 3 with a neck strain, walked one, struck out three and hit two batters.

He threw 43 of 73 pitches for strikes and reached 93 mph on McCoy Stadium’s radar gun.  “I felt I had a good feel on the ball today,” Matsuzaka said through an interpreter. “The best thing was I didn’t experience any problems (read discomfort) and I had good command of my fastball.”

Information obtained from MLB.com.

-  Ted Lilly has suffered another minor setback in his comeback attempt, delaying his first minor league rehab start until Wednesday at Triple-A Iowa.

Lilly, who has suffered back stiffness for the past week, will now throw a bullpen session on Monday at Wrigley Field before starting out at Iowa.

Compliments of Chicagobreakingsports.com

-  Cliff Lee reported no problems after throwing 25 pitches in the bullpen before Friday’s game.  That wasn’t the only good news for the Mariners as injured left-hander Erik Bedard will also throw 45 pitches on Sunday.

Lee, on the 15-day disabled list with a strained lower abdominal muscle, will throw again before Sunday’s game, this time for 45 pitches.

“It’s the same scenario,” Wakamatsu said. “Once we get them back, we want to keep them here.”  MLB.com