Andy Pettitte

Johan Santana Twins pitcher He is 7-1 in 11 starts since losing his first three. Andy Pettitte Astros pitcher He has given up 17 home runs, equaling his total for all of last year.

BATTING LINE OF THE DAY Jeremy Hermida, Marlins OF AB R H RBI HR 1 1 1 4 1 PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY Derek Lowe, Dodgers IP H R BB SO 9 1 0 2 7 WHO'S HOT Andy Pettitte of the Astros is 10-2 in 14 starts since June 20. WHO'S NOT Orlando Hernandez of the White Sox has lost four straight decisions, matching his career high.

Probably not a day goes by in the spring and summer months that it's not uttered in a Baltimore bar or living room, in the stands or the broadcast booth at Camden Yards. An opposing pitcher sets the Orioles down in order or an opposing batter smashes a double to the gap and someone, somewhere declares it to whoever will listen: "Man, that guy just kills the Orioles." You'll likely hear it tonight, when the ultimate Orioles-killing pitcher takes the mound. This time it'll be true. No pitcher with more than 20 decisions against the Orioles has a better winning percentage in the modern franchise's history than Houston left-hander Andy Pettitte.

At Oriole Park at Camden Yards Day Time TV Starters Tonight 7:05 CSN Brandon Backe (6-3, 4.31) vs. Hayden Penn (0-0, 3.52) Tomorrow 7:05 CSN Andy Pettitte (3-6, 3.43) vs. Bruce Chen (5-4, 3.61) Wednesday 7:05 CSN Wandy Rodriguez (2-2, 8.41) vs. Rodrigo Lopez (5-2, 4.52) Radio: All games on WBAL (1090 AM) Astros update Houston has won five in a row after sweeping the Toronto Blue Jays. Scoring continues to be a problem for the Astros, who have totaled the fewest runs in the majors.

Chicago Cubs Manager: Dusty Baker 2003 finish: 88-74 (first) On deck: The arrival of quality run-producer Derrek Lee and the return of four-time Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux improves a club that came within a few outs of the World Series last year. Big expectations, however, have been tempered by news that ace Mark Prior likely won't pitch until May because of injuries to his elbow and Achilles' tendon. Man on a mission: Sammy Sosa has put last year's corked-bat incident behind him and has remained largely immune from the steroid speculation that has dogged some of the game's other big boppers.

The Orioles are flush with cash and the free-agent market is bulging with attractive players, putting pressure on the club to come through with at least one big star to beef up a promising offensive lineup. The fans are understandably eager to see Vladimir Guerrero or Miguel Tejada or some other big-name hitter posing at a winter news conference with an Orioles jersey. They have suffered through six straight losing seasons and will have no patience for a seventh, so they are waiting for a sign from the front office that this spring will be different.

MIAMI - Brian Cashman became the New York Yankees' general manager in February 1998, a few months after the Orioles went wire-to-wire and won the American League East. Since then, the Yankees have won six division titles. Cashman is 6-for-6. But as he stood watching batting practice last night, before Game 4 of the World Series, Cashman acknowledged that the balance of power could soon shift in the AL East. "I see Tampa Bay catching up," he said. "A lot of those players that [GM] Chuck LaMar has been drafting are starting make an impact: Carl Crawford and Rocco Baldelli.

NEW YORK - As it says on the Statue of Liberty, bring us your tired, your most tried and retread postseason baseball themes. So here come the Yankees. Oh, those resilient men in pinstripes. Winning the games they must. Restoring order among the American League East power brokers and lowering the alert level in Boston, where Red Sox Nation really could not stomach a 2-0 lead coming home to Fenway, could it? We'll never know now. All over New England, tortured souls were put to agonized sleep last night by reliever Scott Sauerbeck, whose one-third of an inning produced one walk and one very big hit - a two-run double by Jorge Posada to ice another gritty Yankees postseason win. Ladies and gentlemen, we now have a series.