<P> In just his second season as a pitcher, Backe was recalled on July 16, 2002 from the Double - A Orlando Rays and pitched nine times for the Devil Rays . He posted a 6.92 ERA giving up 10 runs in 13 innings, however 7 of those runs came in one outing - the first game of a July 23 doubleheader at Fenway Park, a game the Rays lost 22 - 4 and in which Backe allowed a pair of home runs to Nomar Garciaparra in one inning . </P> <P> Backe began the season in the minor leagues, but was recalled on May 16 when John Rocker was optioned . He earned his first big league win on August 1 at Kansas City with four scoreless innings of relief . He had a 9 - outing stretch from July 22 to August 21 in which he pitched to a 1.42 ERA over 19 innings, lowering his ERA from 6.06 to a season - low 3.60 . </P> <P> In December 2003, his hometown team, the Houston Astros, acquired Backe from the Devil Rays for Geoff Blum . </P> <P> In 2004, Backe shuffled between Triple - A and the majors, pitching out of the bullpen when he was with the Astros . On August 21, Backe was called up for his first major league start, where he ended up limiting the Chicago Cubs to four hits and no runs over seven innings . After that start, Backe became a permanent member of the Astros rotation, going 4 - 2 over the final two months of the season . </P>

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