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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
NEW YORK (AP) -- Roger Clemens passed another pitching milestone
Wednesday night, moving into 35th place on the all-time victory
list with the 255th win of his career.
|  | | Since returning from a groin injury, Clemens is 4-0 with a 1.84 earned-run average. |
Few of them have been easier.
Staked to an early lead by the New York Yankees, Clemens cruised
to a 9-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers by sticking to a simple
pitching creed -- throwing strikes.
"The guys scored early and you want to make it hold up,"
said Clemens, who limited the Tigers to six hits and struck out 11 over eight innings. "I was sharp tonight. When you're
staked to a lead like that, you've got to get strike one."
And in Clemens' case, strike two and strike three. He walked
none.
It was the 96th time in his career that Clemens has had 10 or
more strikeouts in a game, fourth on the all-time list and one back
of Sandy Koufax. The win moved him one ahead of Hall of Famer Red
Faber and Jack Morris, who each had 254.
It was also his fourth straight victory since returning from the
disabled list.
"There's a big difference when you have your health," said
Clemens, who was on the DL from June 15 until July 1 with a
strained right groin. "I've pitched and won when I've been hurt
but there's a difference between hurting and being hurt. Sometimes,
you hurt the club. It feels good to be healthy."
Clemens (8-6) has pitched seven or more innings in each of the
starts since he returned and seems to be getting progressively
stronger.
"He was good," manager Joe Torre said. "He looked very
confident to me. His splitter was terrific. I was very content
watching. It was nice to get a lead and we know Roger knew what to
do with it."
Paul O'Neill's two-run homer in the first inning against Hideo
Nomo (3-9) put New York in front early. Then Derek Jeter's
bases-loaded triple with two outs in the second made it 5-0.
Clemens felt a little sorry for Nomo in that situation.
"With the bases loaded and Derek up, you've got problems," he
said.
Jeter said he knew what to expect.
"Nomo keeps you off-balance, but at 3-1 with the bases loaded,
he has to throw a strike," he said.
Jeter hit it in the gap and with the big lead, Clemens settled
in.
"He threw the ball well," Tigers manager Phil Garner said.
"But he had a big lead early and he just kind of cruised after
that. We didn't do anything with him."
After Clemens gave up Bobby Higginson's 19th homer of the season
in the fourth, the Yankees increased the lead with three more runs
against reliever Nelson Cruz, two of them on David Justice's 25th
home run of the season. It was his fourth for New York.
Game notes
With the recall of first baseman Eric Munson, their 1999
first-round draft pick, from Double-A Jacksonville, the Tigers have
their last four top draft picks on the major league roster. The
others are pitchers Seth Greisinger (1996), Matt Anderson (1997)
and Jeff Weaver (1998). ... Tigers reliever Todd Jones leads the
American League with 25 saves and has not allowed a run since May
24, pitching shutout ball in his last 18 appearances. ... Yankees
relievers Jeff Nelson and Mike Stanton have not allowed a run
during July.
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NY Yankees Clubhouse
RECAPS
Kansas City 10
Cleveland 5
NY Yankees 9
Detroit 1
Toronto 5
Tampa Bay 2
Boston 0
Baltimore 0
Chi. White Sox 3
Minnesota 2
Texas 3
Anaheim 2
Seattle 6
Oakland 3
Atlanta 0
Florida 0
NY Mets 5
Montreal 3
Chicago Cubs 5
Philadelphia 4
Cincinnati 4
Houston 0
Milwaukee 6
Pittsburgh 0
Arizona 4
St. Louis 3
Los Angeles 9
Colorado 1
San Diego 4
San Francisco 3
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