GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE Astros rally past Indians, 7-6; Jays rout Pirates, 11-5

After blowing a two-run lead, Indians reliever Cliff Bartosh was traded to the Cubs.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Brad Ausmus hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning to cap a three-run rally and give the Houston Astros a 7-6 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday.
Cliff Bartosh squandered a two-run lead, allowing three hits, then was traded to the Chicago Cubs for minor league right-hander Ronald Bay.
Willy Taveras had an RBI double and Chris Burke a run-scoring single to tie it 6-all before Ausmus drove in Taveras.
Chad Harville gave up run-scoring singles to Ronnie Belliard and Travis Hafner in the top of the ninth to put Cleveland up 6-4.
Brandon Duckworth, who is competing with Ezequiel Astacio to be Houston's No. 5 starter, allowed eight hits and four runs with four strikeouts in six innings.
Whether Duckworth will be a starter or a long reliever remains unclear. He is 1-1 with a 3.12 ERA in 202/3 innings. Astacio is 1-0 with a 0.79 ERA.
"Right now, I'm just sitting back and waiting until they tap me on the shoulder and either give me the thumbs up or the thumbs down," Duckworth said. "I think I've thrown the ball pretty well down here and given myself a good opportunity."
Getting a break
The Astros have two days off during the first week of the regular season, and manager Phil Garner said he will go with a four-man rotation until April 17. Garner said sending Astacio to the minors until then is a possibility.
Morgan Ensberg gave Houston a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first with a three-run home run -- his second of the spring -- off Cleveland starter Scott Elarton.
The Indians had four hits off Duckworth in the third, including a two-run single by Hafner that brought Cleveland to 3-2.
Houston scored an unearned run in the fifth to make it 4-2, and Ensberg's fielding error allowed two Cleveland runners to score in the top of the sixth and tie the game.
Elarton pitched seven innings and allowed six hits and four runs. Hafner went 2-for-5 with three RBIs for Cleveland.
Blue Jays 11, Pirates 5
BRADENTON, Fla. -- Maybe all those Auburn spring football practices showed Gabe Gross how to get himself ready for the games that count.
Gross' three-run homer gave Toronto the lead and was his eighth this spring, while the Pirates' Craig Wilson hit his third homer in two days.
Gross, a former Auburn quarterback and the 15th overall pick in the June 2001 draft, is hitting .382 with 18 RBIs in 20 games.
Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon didn't have much fun watching his staff give up 17 hits -- the seventh time in eight games his pitchers have yielded 10 or more. They also allowed seven or more runs for the 11th time in 22 games.
Left-hander Dave Williams had his second consecutive poor start since being chosen as the No. 5 starter. He couldn't hold a four-run lead Thursday against Minnesota, then couldn't protect a 5-2 lead Tuesday, yielding 10 hits and seven runs -- five earned -- in six innings.
McClendon was less critical of Williams than he was Thursday, saying he corrected some of the mistakes he made, even if it wasn't evident.
"I actually thought he threw the ball well," McClendon said. "He hung a breaking ball [to Gross], but I was happy he was pitching rather than just throwing the ball."
McClendon isn't distressed that his five starters -- Oliver Perez, Kip Wells, Mark Redman, Josh Fogg and Williams -- have an 8.08 ERA. Williams' 6.00 ERA is the second lowest of the group to Wells' 4.91.
"I feel good about how it's shaping up," he said. "I like what I see and I feel good about where we're at."