By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff

FORT MYERS, Fla. ' Clay Buchholz just "faced"Tim Wakefield in a simulated game on the back field. It was a scoreless tie. They faced a rotating lineup of Jose Iglesias, Josh Reddick and Mark Wagner.

Buchholz, pitching to Jarrod Saltalamacchia, went three innings and threw 40 pitches (25 strikes). He struck out three without a walk and gave up two hits.

Wakefield, pitching to Paul Hoover, went two innings and threw 37 pitches, 22 strikes. He walked one, struck out two and allowed three hits. Hoover did a nice job with the knuckleball.

Buchholz and Wakefield will pitch on Friday in the split-squad game. Buchholz will face the Tigers at home while Wakefield is set to face the Rays in Port Charlotte at night.

It was fun to watch Iglesias deal with the knuckleball. "I had never seen it before," he said after taking an 0 for 3 against Wakefield. "Man, amazing. It's hard to hit."

There's a reason Wakefield has been in the majors so long.