Houston ? Despite a shaky spring, Brandon Backe is confident he can fill his significant role in the Houston Astros’ rotation.

With Roger Clemens out of the mix – at least for now – Backe is the No. 3 starter behind Roy Oswalt and Andy Pettitte.

And the right-hander knows he’ll have to pitch better than he did Friday night, when he allowed four runs in the first four innings of the Astros’ 6-5 loss to Kansas City at Minute Maid Park.

“I gave up some hits, I left the ball right in the middle of the plate,” Backe said. “I felt pretty good, I got some groundballs when I needed to, but I definitely wouldn’t say it was a great outing.”

Backe went 1-3 with an 8.87 earned-run average in six outings during spring training. He gave up 29 hits and 11 home runs in Florida – eight in his last two starts.

“Spring training is finally over,” Backe said.