For the first time since he suffered a left intercostal strain this spring, Brandon Backe will throw off a mound Wednesday at Minute Maid Park.
Backe, who is on the 15-day disabled list, is pleased with his progress, although he doesn't expect to have a very long session on the mound. "Yeah, I mean, it's something different," he said. "It's another step toward normality. We're just getting up there and just throw. I don't know how long.
"I can throw everything, but I probably won't have enough time to throw everything."
Backe entered camp competing for the fifth spot in the rotation, but he was injured in the second week of March and never was able to truly contend for the job.
ASTROS 3, CUBS 2 (10 innings): Exactly a week after he was acquired, infielder Jeff Keppinger became the first Astro since 1973 to have a walk-off hit in his first at-bat with the club. Keppinger's broken-bat single through the left side in the 10th inning gave the Astros the victory on a night when Wandy Rodriguez threw six excellent innings of one-run ball. Five relievers later, the Astros won.
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