BRADENTON, Fla. -- The Pirates got to see only two innings of Oliver Perez before he leaves for the World Baseball Classic today, but the little they saw was fine.

Perez threw two perfect innings and struck out three yesterday in an 8-1 rout of Manatee Community College at McKechnie Field. More important, given the caliber of competition, he consistently found the strike zone with a variety of pitches.

"I threw 100 percent," Perez said. "I used my splitter. My slider was good. My location was good. Right now, I feel really good."

He also displayed no difficulty adjusting to pitching coach Jim Colborn's recent instruction to keep his back leg steady before releasing.

"Don't go too quickly," Perez said. "Stay on the back foot and throw the ball."

Manatee took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning on sophomore Kevin Clark's home run to right off reliever Salomon Torres. But the Pirates scored four times in the bottom half of the inning despite only one hit, Gookie Dawkins' RBI single.

J.J. Furmaniak hit a three-run home run to left in the eighth.

Ready for liftoff

The Pirates' Grapefruit League schedule opens at 1 p.m. today against the Washington Nationals in Viera, Fla., a three-hour drive from Bradenton.

Ryan Vogelsong will pitch the first two innings and be followed by Victor Santos, Mike Gonzalez, Brandon Duckworth, Scott Strickland and Matt Whiteside. Ramon Ortiz will start for Washington.

"I'm anxious, but I'm anxious everyday," Jim Tracy said of his first official exhibition as the Pirates' manager. "I want to see this group of people perform."

Duffy slowed by shoulder

Chris Duffy will be the designated hitter today and will not play center field until Monday because of a previously undisclosed left shoulder injury.

General manager Dave Littlefield said the injury dates to last season and a catch Duffy made against a wall. He called the move to not start Duffy right away "precautionary."

Cota out of Classic

Seven Pirates players will leave today to join their national teams for the World Baseball Classic: Perez (Mexico); outfielder Jason Bay (Canada); Torres, reliever Damaso Marte and catcher Ronny Paulino (Dominican Republic); reliever Giovanni Carrara (Venezuela) and utilityman Yurendell DeCaster (Netherlands).

Catcher Humberto Cota was invited to play for Mexico, but he announced yesterday he will decline because he was told he would start only one game and would prefer to remain with the Pirates.

The first workouts are Friday, and action begins Tuesday with a three-game opening round. Bay and Perez, whose countries meet Thursday, will have their pool in Phoenix. The Dominicans and Carrara are in Orlando, Fla. DeCaster is in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Bay might not be gone long. Canada has a dearth of pitching, and one of its first-round opponents is the United States.

"You just want to go out there and try to get a win," he said. "In a best-case scenario, we move on. Worst case is that we lose, and I'm back here and playing baseball, and nothing really changed."

Buried treasure

The Pirates' magnetic calendar for spring training includes a logo highlighting the phrase, "We will." That slogan, designed to promote optimism about the team, will anchor the advertising campaign all season.

The team's 2006 media guide, distributed yesterday, is entitled "An All-Star Season" and includes pictures of Pirates All-Stars from the past, including Bay and shortstop Jack Wilson.