BRADENTON, Fla. — Brandon Backe is hoping one wrong step won't cost him a spot in the Houston Astros' rotation.

Backe threw two scoreless innings Sunday before leaving Houston's 11-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates with a strained side muscle.

Backe, trying to win a spot in Houston's rotation, was injured when his front foot slipped on the mound as he threw his last pitch of the first inning.

"Just a freak accident," he said. "My landing foot slipped and my ribs pushed together. It gave me a good jolt. I knew something had happened. The second inning, I felt it the whole time and couldn't really let the ball go."

Freddy Sanchez, Craig Monroe and Garrett Jones each hit long drives for the Pirates.

Sanchez's solo shot off Clay Hensley in the third inning cleared a row of palm trees behind the left-field wall and landed on the roof of the Bradenton Boys & Girls Club building.

"Aw, the wind was blowing out," Sanchez said, grinning. "We're still early in the spring, and you're just trying to see the ball and have good at-bats. That's the main thing right now."

Monroe hit a two-run shot over the scoreboard in left-center in the fourth, and Jones had a 400-foot two-run homer in the fifth.