Texas Rangers: Alex Rodriguez is expected back in camp late Sunday and will begin modified baseball activities Monday.

The Rangers shortstop was examined by Dr. Drew Dossett in Dallas on Sunday morning and cleared to return to Arizona after suffering a small herniated disc in his neck.

Rodriguez had begun to feel weak after a Tuesday game with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He still felt pain Wednesday and was flown home Thursday where a CT scan revealed the inflammation.

Rodriguez told team officials Saturday that he was feeling much better and he is looking forward to getting back to the team.

"I expected him back last night, but it will sure be good to see him," second baseman Michael Young said. "Obviously, we want him in the lineup whether it is a spring training game, a regular season game or the playoffs."

Young is the other half of the Rangers double-play tandem.

Rodriguez led the major leagues last season with 57 home runs, 142 RBI and 389 total bases. He is in his third season of a $252 million 10-year contract.

New York Yankees: Roger Clemens allowed four hits in five scoreless innings as the Yankees beat the Houston Astros 1-0 Sunday.

Clemens, who seems on target to pitch the Yankees' regular-season opener March 31 at Toronto, struck out five.

"We have (made a decision), but you don't know about it yet,'' Yankees manager Joe Torre said with a smile. "Things can change. Something happens. Somebody has a malfunction and all of a sudden we have to retool.''

The six-time Cy Young winner has allowed five runs -- three earned -- over 14 innings in his four spring training starts.

"That's all I know,'' Clemens said when asked about his current rotation slot lining him up for opening day. "It's an honor if that's the case.''

Clemens threw 41 of 63 pitches for strikes.

"Looked like he had pretty good velocity and pretty good command,'' Torre said. "He's been progressively better every time out.''

Clemens has two more scheduled starts this spring.

Alfonso Soriano (right shoulder tendinitis) did not play but worked out extensively at second before the game. He could play in the field in the next couple days.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Elbow surgery prevented Kris Benson from starting the first game in Pittsburgh's PNC Park. Two years later, he'll pitch the first game in Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park.

Pittsburgh manager Lloyd McClendon confirmed Sunday what everyone in the Pirates' camp has known since spring training began -- Benson is the team's opening day starter March 31 in Cincinnati.

McClendon said late last season that Benson would get the 2003 opening day start but, until Sunday, hadn't officially said so this spring.

Maybe he was waiting for Benson to make an effective start. After getting roughed up for eight runs and 11 hits in six innings in his first two starts, he was much better Sunday in a 10-4 victory over the Red Sox.

Benson overcame a shaky first inning filled with hard-hit line drives and two misplayed fly balls to pitch five innings, allowing three runs and six hits. He walked one, struck out three and, for the first time this spring, worked ahead of the hitters.

The only run Benson allowed after the first inning was Kevin Millar's solo homer in the fourth.

"I made a couple of mistakes by making some 0-2 pitches too good, but I felt good about the whole day,'' Benson said. "Everything was back to where it should be mechanics-wise. I kept the ball down, I threw some good fastballs and I had good movement on my pitches.''

Benson and pitching coach Spin Williams watched tapes between starts and detected that Benson was releasing the ball from a higher point in his delivery than last season.

"After we did that, I was lot more confident going into this game,'' Benson said. "I think I'm real close to where I should be. This was a big jump. If I can get two more good games here, I'll be where I need to be.''

At age 28, Benson is being counted on to become the dominating No. 1 starter the Pirates have expected since he was the No. 1 pick in the 1996 draft.

Seattle Mariners: For the first time in nine seasons, Dan Wilson won't be the Seattle Mariners' opening day catcher.

Wilson is trying to recover from a strained oblique muscle in his left side, and manager Bob Melvin said Sunday he will miss the Mariners' March 25-26 opening games in Tokyo against Oakland. An exhibition game between the Mariners and a split squad of the Athletics was rained out Sunday.

Wilson, who has been Seattle's No. 1 catcher since 1994, may not be with the Mariners when they leave Phoenix early Wednesday on a 14-hour flight to Japan.

The Mariners plan to take 30 players to Tokyo.

"There's talk of maybe 31,'' Melvin said. "If it's 31, it may be Dan, but Dan won't be able to play.

"With an injury like he has, even though he's coming along quicker than we expected, to try to get him ready with basically the two games in Japan just doesn't make any sense,'' Melvin said.

That means Ben Davis, Wilson's backup, will start both games behind the plate in Tokyo and Triple-A catcher Pat Borders will be on the plane as Seattle's reserve catcher. Borders is slated to catch in Tacoma this season.

Wilson, 33, hurt himself while swinging inside the batting cage.

Montreal Expos: Javier Vazquez struck out 12 in six dominant innings as the Expos beat the Detroit Tigers 5-2 Sunday.

Vazquez was the first Expos pitcher to work more than four innings this spring. He did not walk a batter and gave up just one run on one hit, a second-inning homer by George Lombard.

"All my pitches were working. My fastball was good and I was throwing strikes,'' Vazquez said. "I don't try to strike everybody out. When all my pitches are working, I'm capable of striking out people.''

Britt Reames, Tim Drew and Dicky Gonzalez finished the one-hitter.

Vazquez struck out the side in the first, then followed with two strikeouts in each of the next four innings. He had one strikeout in the sixth.

Atlanta Braves: Greg Maddux gave up his first earned runs of the spring but the Braves got home runs from Andruw Jones and Bo Porter to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3 Sunday.

Maddux gave up three earned runs and seven hits in four innings before leaving one inning earlier than scheduled. Maddux twice fouled pitches off his foot during an at-bat in the bottom of the third, which he said affected him when he took the mound in the fourth.

Maddux said he felt some pain pushing off the rubber, so he decided not to pitch the fifth and risk any further irritation. He gave up two runs in the fourth, but said the injury does not appear to be serious.

"It's spring training,'' Maddux said. "Better safe than sorry. Had it been a game that mattered, I'm sure I would have stayed in. I wasn't getting the extension (off the rubber) I was getting the first three innings.''

Maddux had not given up a run in nine innings. That changed in the top of the second when Albert Pujols put St. Louis up 1-0 with a leadoff home run. Maddux retired the next three batters in order but had to work out of trouble in the third.

After getting Mike Matheny to ground out, Maddux gave up singles to pitcher Matt Morris, Fernando Vina and So Taguchi to load the bases. But Edgar Renteria struck out swinging on a full count and Pujols hit a weak grounder to Maddux for the final out.

Cleveland Indians: Rookie Jason Davis was selected as the fifth starter in the Indians' rotation.

The 22-year-old right-hander had a 1.93 ERA in 14 innings this spring. He beat out left-hander Billy Traber, a rookie with a 2.25 ERA in 12 innings.

"Traber has done everything he needed to do to be on this ballclub,'' manager Eric Wedge said Sunday. "We just felt Davis was a little bit better.''

He'll follow C.C. Sabathia, Jason Bere, Brian Anderson and fellow rookie Ricardo Rodriguez in the rotation. Traber will be given a chance to make the team as a reliever.

Davis rose from Class A to the big leagues last summer. He got off to a slow start at Kinston but pitched well enough afterward to be promoted to Double-A on July 10 and to Cleveland on Sept. 9.

Davis picked up his first major league victory Sept. 20 at Kansas City. The Indians drafted Davis in the 21st round in 1999 out of Cleveland State Community College in Tennessee.

Kansas City Royals: A heads-or-tails approach determined that Runelvys Hernandez will be the starting pitcher for the regular-season opener March 31 against the Chicago White Sox in Kansas City.

Royals manager Tony Pena called Hernandez and Jeremy Affeldt into his office before Saturday's exhibition game. Club president Dan Glass, general manager Allard Baird and pitching coach John Cumberland also were present.

"I believe both of those kids deserved the opportunity to be the Opening Day pitcher," Pena told the Kansas City Star. "I don't want either one of them to feel bad about it."

Pena flipped a quarter in the air. Affeldt called heads. It landed tails.

Hernandez was 4-4 last season as a rookie with a 4.36 ERA in 12 starts.

"Flip a coin?" Hernandez told the Star. "That's funny. But I take it with my heart because I competed for this. I feel happy just like when I made the team. I'm so happy because this was one of my dreams in the big leagues."

Hernandez will be the 13th different pitcher to start for the Royals on Opening day in the club's 35-year history.

Chicago Cubs: Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker pointed with pleasure to his dwindling list of sick and injured players Sunday.

"It's getting shorter,'' Baker said.

Since the Cubs opened spring training with 55 players, 26 have endured illness. Most had cold and flulike symptoms, while others had bronchitis. But Cubs ace Kerry Wood hasn't been able to shake the bug.

Wood, the projected starter for the season opener against the New York Mets on March 31, missed his scheduled start Saturday against Anaheim. He was at the ballpark Sunday, but Baker said he wasn't sure when Wood would be able to return to the mound.

Baker also wasn't certain whether Wood's illness, which is affecting his inner-ear, would prevent the 25-year-old right-hander from pitching on opening day.

"He still has a little dizziness,'' Baker said after Sunday's game against the Colorado Rockies was rained out. "You don't know until we get him back. He was up to 75 pitches (during exhibition games). If we can get him back soon, he'll be back to 90-to-100 pretty quickly.''