ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Brandon Duckworth might not have won a spot in the Pirates' starting rotation quite yet, but it became increasingly clear yesterday that Ryan Vogelsong won't.

Duckworth pitched five excellent innings in a 2-2, 11-inning tie with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Vogelsong, who was in the battle for a rotation spot, pitched only two innings, allowing two messy runs.

Vogelsong pitched three innings in a game against Cincinnati Thursday. The downward trend in the innings he has been receiving indicates he's headed toward the bullpen as a long reliever.

"There is a situation in our bullpen where I think it's fairly imperative for our ballclub and for the use of the bullpen the way I want to use it that we have some length in our bullpen," manager Jim Tracy said. "There's more than one spot that's available [on what will be a 12-man pitching staff] and we need some length in our bullpen.

"We can't just have situational guys. We can't just have specialty type guys -- one-inning guys, four-out guys."

A long man in the bullpen is a necessity even more this season because the Pirates begin the season with an unusually long stretch of games without a scheduled day off. They open April 3 in Milwaukee and play 17 consecutive games before their first scheduled off-day April 20.

Should a starting pitcher make an early exit in a game, a long man would pick up the slack and save the bullpen.

That appears to be Vogelsong's role -- at least to begin the season.

Vogelsong declined comment to the media about his two-inning stint yesterday.

Duckworth allowed two hits -- both with two outs in the first inning -- walked none and struck out three. This spring, he has yielded 10 hits, six walks and three runs and struck out 11 in 13¹/₃ innings.

"This was his best outing to date," Tracy said.

Duckworth, 30, has made 66 major-league starts for Philadelphia and Houston. In 91 big-league games, he's 16-21 with a 5.34 ERA.

Victor Santos, also considered in the mix for a starting rotation spot, pitched yesterday in a minor-league game in Bradenton.

Why didn't he pitch in the major-league game?

"We have a pretty good idea of Victor Santos and who he is and what he's all about," Tracy said enigmatically. "He has to get his work in. I think it was very important for us to see more of Duckworth and Vogelsong in this game than it was Santos."

The Pirates got their runs on a long two-run home run into a lusty wind by Brad Eldred over the left-field wall.

Paulino returns

Catcher Ronny Paulino, who played for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, reported back to the Pirates yesterday and caught in the game against the Devil Rays.

"It was fun," Paulino said of the WBC experience. "It was fun to be with all the other good players -- the superstars -- and learn from them. It was something because it the first time. It was very important."

Reliever Salomon Torres, who pitched for the Dominican Republic in the WBC, should rejoin the Pirates today.

Cuts coming

The Pirates held a meeting last night concerning the next round of roster cuts, which should result in a rather large number of departures from the major-league camp this morning.

Slow start

Center fielder Chris Duffy played in his second consecutive game since being hit in the head by a Curt Schilling pitch and missing a week. He was 0 for 3.

"For some reason, last year I played spring training like it was the season," Duffy said. "I had like an edge, like I had a chip on my shoulder. ... This year, I don't feel like I have the adrenaline going. And the thing is, I didn't want to treat it like that. I'm like, 'Whoa! What is this? Where's the adrenaline?' But I know it's there."

Wilson still a Pirate

Because the Boston Red Sox sent right-hander Bronson Arroyo to Cincinnati for outfielder Wily Mo Pena -- and signed Juan Gonzalez -- Craig Wilson going to the Red Sox would seem a moot point.

"The rumors were wrong," Wilson said. "Apparently it was just what it was -- a rumor."

That doesn't mean Wilson won't go somewhere. Atlanta, Cleveland, Toronto, San Diego and Seattle could still have some interest in the first baseman/outfielder.