PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) _ New York's Al Leiter was the victim of a bizarre play that gave former teammate Ocatvio Dotel the victory in Houston's 4-1 win Thursday.

Leiter had survived a shaky second inning and appeared to have ended the fifth inning after striking out Houston's Bill Spiers.

But the called third strike popped out of catcher Todd Pratt's glove and rolled about six feet toward third base. Spiers stood and glared at the umpire while Pratt retrieved the ball and flipped it to the home plate umpire as he stepped aside. The baseball began rolling toward the backstop and Spiers sprinted to first base.

Houston left fielder Lance Berkman followed with a single to left field and third baseman Ken Caminiti hit a three-run homer into a stiff breeze over the left-field wall to give the Astros a 4-1 lead.

Leiter allowed four runs _ one earned _ and five hits in five innings.

``He's still working on some things, but I like what I saw today,'' Mets manager Bobby Valentine said.

Dotel, who came to Houston along with Roger Cedeno in the Mike Hampton trade, allowed one run and three hits in five innings.

New York's lone run off Dotel came in the third inning after Jay Payton hit a two-out double and scored on Edgardo Alfonzo's single.

Leiter walked three Houston batters and gave up a single in the second inning, but allowed just one run after Payton threw out Richard Hidalgo from right field at the plate for the second out and Cedeno grounded out to end the inning.

The Mets finished the Grapefruit League season with a 14-12 record and immediately began preparing for their trip to Japan where they meet the Chicago Cubs to open the season March 29.

Notes: Right-hander Rick Reed pitched seven innings on a back field at the complex against a Triple-A team. Reed gave up two hits and struck out six while throwing 75 pitches. ... Right-hander Bobby Jones pitched five innings against a Double-A team and recorded six strikeouts while giving up two three hits.