BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) _ Wil Cordero hit a three-run home run one day after not showing up for a road game, but the Pittsburgh Pirates couldn't hold a four-run lead in a 5-5 tie with the Texas Rangers on Saturday.

The game was called after 11 innings by mutual agreement.

Cordero, who signed a $9 million contract during the offseason, returned to the lineup after unexpectedly missing Friday's game against the Atlanta Braves. He met Saturday with manager Gene Lamont, who said afterward the situation had been resolved.

``A personal problem came up, and he didn't know how to reach me,'' Lamont said. ``But when something like that happens, I need to know.''

Jason Kendall started a four-run Pirates first with a homer, his second of the spring, and Cordero added a three-run shot later in the inning off Rick Helling. It was Cordero's first this spring.

But Pirates starter Kris Benson wasn't as effective as he was in shutting out the New York Yankees for six innings Monday, allowing three runs _ two earned _ and seven hits in five innings.

``He wasn't as good. You could see he wasn't as sharp,'' Lamont said. ``But the Yankees' game was more like a regular season game, a night game with a big crowd.''

Gabe Kapler was 3-for-4 with run-scoring singles in the third off Benson and the seventh against left-hander Chris Peters, who had shoulder surgery in November and was making only third appearance.

Scarborough Green's run-scoring single in the eighth off Josias Manzanillo tied it at 5 for the Rangers, who got two hits each from David Segui and Ruben Mateo. Mateo was 2-for-4 and is 13-for-19 with nine RBIs during a six-game hitting streak.

Helling allowed five runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings, but relievers Mike Venafro, Francisco Cordero, Chuck Smith and Brian Sikorski combined for 5 2-3 shutout innings.

Venafro, bothered previously by a sprained ligament in his left middle finger, made his spring debut and yielded three hits in one inning.

Francisco Cordero made his sixth consecutive scoreless appearance for Texas, and Jeff Wallace made his fifth in a row for Pittsburgh.