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Wednesday, May 07, 2003

By Paul Meyer, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Pirates vs. Astros, 8:05 p.m., Minute Maid Park. TV: Fox Sports Net. Radio: KDKA-AM (1020) and the Pirates Radio Network. RHP Salomon Torres (2-0) starts for the Pirates; RHP Scott Linebrink (0-1) for the Astros.

The Pirates suspended Nashville OF Tony Alvarez without pay for one week "because of his failure to conform to the personal conduct standards of his Major League Uniform Player's Contract," the team said in a statement. The suspension began at noon yesterday. Alvarez is on the Sounds' disabled list because of a hamstring injury, although he was close to being able to play. "The statement as issued is really the only thing we can communicate about Tony," minor-league director Brian Graham said. "The issue is between Tony and the Pirates. It was a violation of his contract."

Kris Benson pitched only 2 1/3 innings Monday night, the shortest start of his major-league career. The Astros were 8 for 14 against him, raising their batting average against him at Minute Maid Park to .380 (38 for 100). That's the highest of any active pitcher at Minute Maid Park. Former Pirate Jimmy Anderson is second at .337.

Benson's early exit meant Brian Meadows had to pitch 4 2/3 innings in the Pirates' 8-1 loss. Meadows allowed three hits and a run, and kept McClendon from having to overwork his bullpen. "He really saved us," McClendon said. "Those are things that get overlooked on a night like this. He was just tremendous. He was the most positive thing that happened for us." The Pirates trailed, 6-0, in the top of the sixth inning when Pokey Reese got their first hit, a one-out single. Meadows was up next and McClendon didn't consider pinch-hitting for him. "Not with us in the midst of playing 20 straight games," he said. "There was just no way. You can't use up your bullpen. Now, if we'd been scoring a bunch of runs and I'd felt good about us trying to make a run [at Houston], it would be different."

NASHVILLE (20-9) was rained out against Las Vegas. OF John Barnes has a .313 batting average, 4 home runs and 24 RBIs. RF J.J. Davis is hitting .265, with 2 homers and 10 RBIs. He has 18 strikeouts in 98 at-bats. 1B Carlos Rivera has a .283 average, 3 home runs and 16 RBIs. 3B Mike Gulan is batting .330, with 3 homers and 18 RBIs. RHP Ryan Vogelsong is 4-2 with a 4.86 ERA.

ALTOONA (14-14) had the day off. LHP Sean Burnett is 2-2 with a 2.87 ERA. In 31 1/3 innings, he has allowed 29 hits and 10 walks and struck out 20. SS Jose Castillo has a .225 batting average, 2 home runs, 13 RBIs and 22 strikeouts in 111 at-bats. He has eight errors in 27 games.

LYNCHBURG (16-8) was rained out against Winston-Salem. C Ryan Doumit has a .378 batting average, 5 home runs and 24 RBIs. OF Nate McLouth has a .287 average and has scored 25 runs in 24 games. RHP Bobby Bradley is 1-1 in five starts. In 22 innings, he has yielded 15 hits and 16 walks and struck out 16.

HICKORY (22-7) was rained out at Rome. OF Rajai Davis has a .271 batting average, 11 stolen bases in 14 attempts and 25 runs scored in 28 games. 1B Brad Eldred has a .308 average, 6 home runs and 23 RBIs.