A Phil Hiatt base hit to LF in the bottom of the ninth Thursday afternoon--Houston's eighth of the game--scored Tom Whiteman with the winning run as the Astros rallied past the Pirates 5-4 in Kissimmee and boosted their ST record to 5-2. The late-as-it-could-be comeback rescued another generally-fine pitching performance from the staff, and made the pitching that wasn't so fine--from Kirk Saarloos and Santiago Ramirez in the seventh--a little easier to bear.

Andy Pettitte was quite sharp once again today, going three innings and giving up just one hit, but facing merely the minimum nine, with a 6-4-3 double play in the second taking care of the lone baserunner. As I told a reader this morning by e-mail, the true test for Pettitte, the only one that counts, will come when he pitches his first few games in Houston and deals with the Crawford Boxes, but let it be said that Houston's lefty is sharp in Florida, and his work extended an Astro pitching scoreless streak to about 14 innings.

Kip Wells was sharp, too, though, this afternoon and it was not until after Jared Fernandez took the mound in the fourth inning that Houston broke through in the bottom half to take a lead. A push bunt base hit toward 2B by Adam Everett, a walk to John Valentin, and a double to LF by Jeff Kent got one run home. After that, a single to RF by Lance Berkman plated another, and a following hit up the middle by Jason Lane gave Houston a 3-0 advantage. Fernandez in the fourth and fifth and Nate Bland in the sixth held that lead, with only a Bland single in the sixth to disturb things.

But it all fell apart--and fast--for Saarloos and Ramirez in the seventh. Saarloos gave up two straight hits to open the frame, but assisted on a big 1-6-3 double play ball from the bat of Orlando Merced. A walk to J.J. Davis, however, kept the inning alive, and backup catcher Sandy Martinez crushed a pitch that Saarloos left out over the plate to RF for a stunning three-run homer. For whatever reason, Jimy Williams used a hook worthy of The Gong Show to yank Saarloos right then, but Ramirez wasn't any better. The next batter went deep, too, also to RF, and Pittsburgh had a stunning lead. All I could say to myself was, "Geez--it was nice while it lasted."

But the Astros were not done. They pushed matters as close as they can be pushed toward extra innings and a possible game-ending tie, but with two outs, a walk to Raul Chavez, a base hit to LF by sub Chris Burke, and a whack to LF by Hiatt gave Houston the victory just as swiftly as Pittsburgh had snatched the lead away from the Astros earlier.The good work by Pettitte, Fernandez, and Bland early, plus some high-quality work from Chad Qualls and Dave Veres in the eighth and ninth was part of an effort that held the Pirates to seven hits. About Saarloos and Ramirez, who gave up four of those hits in the seventh, it can only be said that men pitch their way off of clubs as well as onto them in the Spring. Both will get more work, one way or another, but neither did their personal causes much good today. Saarloos, in particular, already warmed up in the inning as he was, had a real chance to escape trouble, and he just flat put the ball where he knows he can't put it and survive. If there is any importance at all to attach to this game, it lies there, in that moment, rather than in the rally that eventually won it. Whiteman, who ran for Chavez, Burke, who singled, and Hiatt, who stroked the game-ending hit, will probably all be in the minors come Opening Day. Saarloos, whose odds of making the staff, however small, still give him a shot, will probably because of his pitching this spring join them in New Orleans, just one of the many human stories within the large framework of casual wins and losses that make up a 29-game schedule in Spring Training.

Another one of those 29 comes up Friday night when Jeriome Robertson gets a start against the Yankees so that Roger Clemens can have an extra day to get ready for a stint against the Marlins in Mexico City on Saturday.