BRADENTON, Fla. — It wasn’t exactly a pitch-off Monday afternoon, but Sean Lowe and Josh Fogg each took one more crack at securing a spot in the Pirates pitching rotation. Advantage, Lowe. Lowe started and gave up one run in three innings, while Fogg surrendered three solo homers in four innings, as the Pirates held off the Texas Rangers, 6-4, at McKechnie Field. Manager Lloyd McClendon went to great lengths to say that neither Lowe nor Fogg made or ruined his chances based on yesterday’s results. Still, Lowe has to be considered the favorite for the fifth spot. The only run he permitted came on a double — a fly ball that was lost in the sun — and two groundouts. “I don’t know what else they want to see out of me,” said Lowe, who has given up two earned runs in 10 innings this spring. Fogg, however, gave up home runs to Hank Blalock, Ed Sprague and Jason Romano. This spring, he has allowed six runs in 16 innings. “This game is no different than any other,” Fogg said. “You have to make pitches and get people out. I made some good pitches and some bad pitches. Three were hit pretty hard.” McClendon didn’t see it that way. “He got the ball up, but the most important thing was he only gave up solo home runs and he didn’t walk anybody,” he said. McClendon said he would like to reach a decision within the next five days, perhaps after Lowe and Fogg pitch one more time. “You’d like to know as soon as possible,” Fogg said. “But you have to earn everything you get.” Lowe and Fogg are close friends from their days pitching with the Chicago White Sox. They also are fierce competitors who take pride in trying to upstage one another. “I like doing this because it makes me work harder,” Lowe said. “Competition makes the games funner in spring training.” “If you are shooting free throws and your friend makes 8 out of 10, you want to make 9 out of 10,” Fogg said. COMPETITIVE BALANCE If Derek Bell doesn’t think there’s competition in right field, he wasn’t paying attention on the first day of camp when general manager Dave Littlefield and McClendon addressed the team. “It was something Lloyd and I said to everybody when we talked to the group,” Littlefield said. “It was a message to every position, not right field. It’s been stated and written about often. We’re looking for the best guys.” Bell claims he was never told the right-field job was up for grabs. McClendon, who had a contentious relationship with Bell last season, wasn’t planning on discussing the subject with his outfielder. “I’m about trying to take the best 25 players north,” he said. “Right now, we’re in the process of trying to figure that out. If a guy has a problem with that, my door is always open. If there’s a conflict or any other situation, we’ll meet it head on.” McClendon said he didn’t read Bell’s comments and wasn’t planning it, either. “Don’t tell me what he said,” McClendon said. “It’s tough enough already.” Bell, by the way, went 1 for 3 yesterday and is 4 for 27 this spring. In two springs with the Pirates, he has one extra-base hit in 94 at-bats. ONE MORE SLOT FILLED Left-hander Dave Williams’ next start will come Thursday, giving him six days of rest between assignments. That puts Williams on course to start the fourth game of the season, April 5 in Chicago. Right-hander Pat Rapp, the third pitcher competing for the No. 5 berth, will make his first spring start Wednesday against the New York Yankees. He has an 8.59 ERA in three appearances. GAME REPORT It has taken all of 42 at-bats this spring for shortstop Jack Wilson to match his home run total from the entire 2001 season. Wilson homered for the third time this spring. He hit three homers in 390 at-bats during his rookie season. “He’s a lot stronger, and he’s using the whole field,” McClendon said. “He’s showing more intelligence at the plate.” Wilson, who went 2 for 5 with two RBI and a stolen base, is batting .286 this spring. Second baseman Mike Benjamin had a two-run single in a four-run second inning. EXTRA BASES Right-hander Mike Lincoln could be able to pitch Wednesday. He has a cut on his right middle finger. … Right-hander Josias Manzanillo, whose spring debut keeps getting pushed back, could pitch in a minor-league game March 23. … Second baseman Pokey Reese, who hasn’t played since March 9, will be in the starting lineup Wednesday night. He has been sidelined with a strained right elbow.

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