CLEARWATER, Fla. - The only candidate for the No. 5 spot who hasn't given up a run in the past 5 days was the one throwing a bullpen session and drawing rave reviews yesterday morning outside Bright House Field.

At some point in the near future, the Phillies will have some decisions to make involving Kris Benson, who looked sharp in his first work off the mound since his appearance in a minor league game Saturday.

Right now, the veteran righthander is signed to a minor league contract worth $100,000. If he is not promoted to the 40-man roster by March 25, he can opt out of his deal. He receives a $500,000 contract if he makes the roster, with incentives that could increase the total package to $5.1 million.

After returning from shoulder surgery a year ago, Benson seems like a virtual lock to remain with the team beyond the opt-out date. A likely scenario would have the Phillies adding him to the roster, then placing him on the disabled list until he is ready to start a regular season game.

And the other competitors for the No. 5 spot in the rotation have only aided Benson's bid.

Yesterday, J.D. Durbin was the latest candidate to see his earned run average skyrocket even further, allowing five runs on eight hits, six of them doubles, in 3 1/3 innings against the Pirates. He is among four potential No. 5 starters with a spring ERA higher than 7.00. (Chad Durbin, Adam Eaton and Travis Blackley are the others.)

That bodes well for Benson.

"Based on how he's thrown and where we are with regard to our pitching, it's pretty evident that he still seems to be a pretty good option," assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said.

But Amaro also said it's still too early to count on Benson being part of the rotation throughout the season.

When the Phillies signed him to a minor league deal in mid-February, they cautioned that he was throwing at only 60 to 70 percent of his velocity, and there could yet be peaks and valleys in his recovery. Thus far, Benson has progressed linearly, showing improvement every time he steps on the mound.

But Benson's recovery isn't complete. In an appearance in a minor league game Saturday, his peak velocity was 88 mph. Consistently, he was a notch or two below that. Benson said yesterday he believes the extra power he needs for games will develop naturally over the next few weeks. But the fact remains, he is not there yet.

Benson also hasn't faced major league hitters in more than a year, and that likely won't change until after he appears in another minor league game Thursday.

"We can't put ourselves in a position to count on him as our '5,' " Amaro said. "We have to work to hope to see that somebody else is going to be stepping up to take that job. Right now, as we've said before, we're letting people compete for that job and we'll see who takes a strong hold of it."

Benson, for one, is convinced he will spend the season as a Phillie. And he's eager for the Phillies to make the feeling mutual.

"I don't think I'm going to have to exercise the 'out' clause, personally," Benson said. "I think the team is satisfied with what they see. I don't have a problem with them coming to me before, even tomorrow, it doesn't matter to me, if they want to keep me. It'd kind of be smart for them to go ahead and lock it up and just forget about it, than it is to kind of drag it out and wait till the very end of the deadline. If they like what they see, I don't think things are going to change, unless they just want to see if something happens [injury]. I don't think anything's going to happen."

Eaton throws

Since an MRI revealed a partially herniated disc in Adam Eaton's lower back, a condition that has affected him throughout the spring, the righthander has stopped his usual running routine in order to spare his body from unnecessary pounding. That, along with a new focus on core exercises, has helped alleviate much of the pain, he said after throwing off the mound for the first time since the back hampered him last week.

"I was able to get extension down and away and be able to throw all my pitches the way I wanted to," Eaton said. "I think with the precautions that we're taking and with the focused conditioning and stuff, it shouldn't be a problem."

Eaton is scheduled to throw another bullpen session tomorrow before returning to game action Saturday against the Twins.

Myers strong

Brett Myers pitched 5 2/3 innings against minor league competition, allowing two runs on three hits, striking out six and walking one. His only runs came on a two-run home run to Jake Blalock in the first inning. He retired the final 12 batters he faced, and finished with 75 pitches.

Pirates 8, Phillies 5

Yesterday's loss was the Phillies' seventh in eight games, dropping them to 4-9-1. Manager Charlie Manuel isn't happy, particularly with the play of the pitching staff. The Phillies' team ERA of 6.77 was the third worst among all major league clubs in spring training.

On a positive note, Ryan Howard continued his hot hitting, belting his third homer of the spring. Pat Burrell also homered, going 2-for-3 to raise his average to .250.

"It seems like every day we lose we get behind in a game," Manuel said. "I'd like to see somebody throw good enough to keep us in the game for five or six innings and see what kind of offense we can muster." *