01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, June 17, 2006

It was a rough start and solid finish for The Rocket.

Next stop: Houston.

Pitching for the Triple-A Round Rock Express in the final tuneup before his return to the Astros, Roger Clemens gave up three runs on three hits in the first inning before settling into a big-league groove last night against the New Orleans Zephyrs.

The seven-time Cy Young Award winner also walked three and faced nine batters in the first, throwing 41 pitches before retiring the next eight hitters in a row.

He finished the night with 5 2/3 innings of work with five strikeouts, five hits and three walks. Of his 91 total pitches, 57 went for strikes.

The 43-year-old Clemens flashed a "Hook'em Horns" sign and got a standing ovation from the Express-record 13,475 fans who came to watch the former Texas Longhorns star pitch about 15 miles from the campus where he won an NCAA championship in 1983.

ROUNDUP TOP PROSPECT CHARGED: Durham Bulls shortstop B.J. Upton, a former No. 2 overall pick and a top minor-league prospect, was charged yesterday in Chapel Hill, N.C., with drunken driving. Upton, 21, was stopped by police about 3:30 a.m. for traveling 51 mph in a 30 mph zone while driving a Mercedes Benz sedan, according to a police report. He had a blood alcohol level of 0.11 percent. The legal limit for drivers in North Carolina is .08. Upton was released on a written promise to appear in court, the report said. Upton batted .258 with four home runs in 159 bats while with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2004, the same year he was rated the second-best prospect in the nation by Baseball America.

COLON TO PLAY? The Los Angeles Times reports that Angels starter Bartolo Colon, recovering from a shoulder injury, will be activated either tomorrow or Monday. Colon says he feels stronger than he did in spring training and won't be afraid to "cut loose his fastball."

NATS HIRE COACH: Former major-league catcher Randy Knorr was hired as the bullpen coach of the Washington Nationals yesterday, replacing John Wetteland. Knorr, a member of the Toronto Blue Jays' 1992 and 1993 World Series champions, had been managing the Nationals' Class-A Potomac minor-league club.

ECKSTEIN SCRATCHED: St. Louis Cardinals shortstop David Eckstein was scratched from the lineup last night, a day after suffering a minor concussion while breaking up a double play. Eckstein, second in the N.L. with 86 hits and batting .322, had been in the leadoff slot against the Rockies. He finished the game Thursday, but said he'd been experiencing headaches all night after the team's return flight from Pittsburgh, and said the head "was kind of throbbing pretty good" when he attempted to take batting practice several hours before game time.

WASDIN ON DL: The Texas Rangers activated left-hander Fabio Castro from the disabled list yesterday and put right-hander John Wasdin on the DL with a sprained right thumb. The move with Wasdin was retroactive to Monday, the day after he took a batted ball off his hand during his start in Boston. He was 1-0 with a 3.38 E.R.A. in two games since having his contract purchased by the Rangers on June 1.

NEGRO LEAGUER DIES: Former Negro League player Charles Johnson has died. He was 96. Johnson, a pitcher and outfielder for the Chicago American Giants in the 1930s, died of complications from prostate cancer, the Chicago Tribune reported. He was buried yesterday in Chicago.