HOUSTON – Mark Prior pitched five shutout innings in his third start since coming off the DL and Todd Walker homered twice, ending Roger Clemens’ unbeaten start with a 7-2 win over the Houston Astros on Monday night.

A highly anticipated pitching duel between one of the game’s most enduring stars and one of its newest was surprisingly lopsided in favor of the Cubs’ 23-year-old All-Star.

Prior (1-1) allowed only five hits and struck out eight, denying his childhood idol a chance to become the first pitcher in the big leagues with 10 wins. Clemens also could have become the first Astro to start the season 10-0 since Juan Agosto in 1988.

Walker went 4-for-5 with homers in the sixth and ninth and a triple in the third. He also scored four runs. The Cubs’ second baseman is now 14-for-29 in his last six games after going 0-for-13 in his previous four.

Aramis Ramirez and Moises Alou also homered, handing the Astros their third loss in four games.

Houston’s problems were compounded by the loss of shortstop Adam Everett, who left the game in the first inning after straining his left hamstring while running out an infield single.

The Cubs showed no weariness following Sunday’s 15-inning thriller against the Anaheim Angels, a 6-5 victory that took 5 hours, 8 minutes to complete.

Chicago was helped by Clemens (9-1) struggling throughout the night, giving up five runs on a season-high 10 hits. He had six strikeouts but didn’t appear to have any zip on his normally fearsome fastball and slider.

The Rocket opened the fifth by allowing two singles and a walk, loading the bases with no outs. Ramirez then singled in Todd Walker and Derrek Lee followed with an RBI single to score Martinez and give Chicago a 4-0 lead.

Clemens worked his way out of that jam, but promptly gave up a homer to Walker in the sixth that gave the Cubs a 5-0 lead. He was replaced by reliever Kirk Bullinger to start the seventh.

Clemens’ last regular-season loss was Sept. 6, 2003.

Meanwhile, Prior bounced back nicely from a rough outing in his second start of the season, when he gave up five runs on five hits with five walks in 3 2-3 innings in a 12-4 loss to St. Louis.

He looked as sharp as ever in this one, his third start after missing the first two months of the season with Achilles’ tendinitis.

Prior struck out four of the first five batters he faced and didn’t allow a runner past first base until Jose Vizcaino’s double in the fourth. He retired the side in order in the fifth.

After Lance Berkman doubled deep to centerfield in the sixth, Prior deaparted to a smattering of applause from a small contingent of rowdy Cubs fans. Jimmy Anderson replaced him and went the final four innings for his first save.

Ramon Martinez’s two-out single off Clemens in the third scored Todd Walker for the game’s first run and Ramirez led off the fourth with a homer that just sailed over the rightfield fence, giving the Cubs a 2-0 lead.

Astros first baseman Jeff Bagwell, moved from third to fifth in the lineup after hitting .209 on a 12-game road trip, flung a Gatorade cooler in the dugout during the game. Bagwell went 0-for-4 on Monday, striking out twice.

Indians 14, Orioles 0

CLEVELAND – Jake Westbrook pitched a four-hitter for his first major league shutout and the Cleveland Indians trounced the Baltimore Orioles 14-0 Monday for their fourth straight win.

John McDonald, getting a rare start and batting only .107, got a career-high four hits and Lou Merloni had two of the Indians’ eight doubles.

Cleveland scored seven times in the third inning and led 14-0 after five. Casey Blake drove in three runs.

The Orioles lost for the sixth time in nine games.

Westbrook (6-2) struck out four and walked two in his third career complete game. This was his 43rd start in the majors.

Westbrook has won three of his last four starts and hasn’t lost since May 22.

The game was a makeup from a May 2 rainout at Jacobs Field.

Blake’s two-run single, and two-run doubles by Merloni and Tim Laker highlighted the big third inning. McDonald added an RBI single.

Eric DuBose (4-5) was charged with eight runs in 2 2-3 innings. He gave up six hits and walked four.

The Indians roughed up Rick Bauer for six runs in the fifth.

Jody Gerut hit a two-run double and Coco Crisp had a two-run single. An RBI double by Ronnie Belliard and an RBI single by Travis Hafner accounted for the scoring.

Braves 10, Twins 7

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – Jon Schuerholz, promoted from Class A to play in front of his father, had four hits and helped key a six-run rally in the ninth inning that sent the Atlanta Braves over Minnesota 10-7 Monday in the Hall of Fame exhibition.

Schuerholz, batting only .165 in 56 games as a second baseman for Myrtle Beach, hit just his second pro home run and added three singles. He was picked as the MVP and got a hug behind home plate from his dad, Braves general manager John Schuerholz.

Schuerholz had an infield single with two outs in the ninth that loaded the bases. Gregor Blanco followed with a three-run double for an 8-7 lead.

“I was just trying to keep the inning going,” Schuerholz said. “It’s unbelievable. I can’t remember the last time I went 4-for-4.”

Andruw Jones, Wesley Timmons, Dewayne Wise and Jeff Francoeur also hit solo homers for the Braves at cozy Doubleday Field.

Mike Restovich and Tommy Watkins hit solo shots for the Twins. Watkins’ homer in the bottom of the seventh gave Minnesota a 7-4 lead.

Atlanta pitcher Paul Byrd, rehabbing after shoulder surgery, allowed eight hits and six runs, four of them earned, in six innings. He walked none.

Francoeur, one of eight players called up from Myrtle Beach for the day, homered on Bobby Korecky’s first pitch in the ninth.

Korecky, who pitches for Double-A New Britain, retired the next two batters. But Atlanta loaded the bases on an error and two hits, and Blanco put the Braves ahead.

Jose Cappellan of Double-A Greenville got the win and Korecky was the losing pitcher.

Minnesota’s Matthew LeCroy won the home-run hitting contest prior to the game, which was played for the second straight year in mid-June instead of during Hall of Fame induction weekend, which usually is in late July.

LeCroy and Johnny Estrada of the Braves each hit five homers in 10 swings to tie after the first round, but Estrada managed only one in five swings on the second round and LeCroy connected on his first two tries to win it in front of a sellout crowd of 9,868.

AP-ES-06-14-04 1825EDT