Clemens keeps Yankees hot

Gets early lead, holds Royals in check before game becomes rout

YANKEES 9, ROYALS 2

BY KAT O'BRIEN
kat.obrien@newsday.com

July 24, 2007

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It would have been easy for the Yankees to suffer an offensive letdown last night after scoring 38 runs in their previous two games.

That didn't happen, though. They scored five runs in the ninth to break open a close game and earn their fourth straight victory, 9-2 over the Royals.

The Yankees had 13 hits to give them 38 in the last two games and 58 in the last three. "I think that's what everyone has expected," Johnny Damon said of the offense.

After the Yankees took a 4-0 lead in the second, it was more of a show by Roger Clemens until the ninth. Clemens (3-4) turned in his fourth quality start in his last five outings, Luis Vizcaino pitched the eighth and Ron Villone worked the ninth.

The Yankees have won 15 of their last 20 and are a season-high six games over .500 at 52-46. They moved within 5 1/2 games of Cleveland - five in the loss column - in the wild-card race and remained 7 1/2 games behind Boston in the AL East.

"We'd still like to make some noise in the division," manager Joe Torre said.



Johnny Damon drives the ball into left field for a two-run double.

Damon had three hits and two RBIs and Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada also drove in a pair of runs. Matsui has nine RBIs in the last four games and 65 for the season.

Alex Rodriguez picked up his 100th RBI of the season with a ninth-inning single. He is 15-for-28 with seven walks, seven homers and 19 RBIs in the ninth this season. Rodriguez has 100 RBIs in 99 team games (including the suspended game against the Orioles), making him the fastest major-leaguer to reach that mark since Manny Ramirez in 1999. No Yankee has gotten to 100 RBIs so quickly since Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio in 1937.

"It's pretty cool," said Rodriguez, who has eight RBIs in the last three games, "but I'm really fixed on the team and what we're trying to do."

Torre was more impressed, saying, "This is pretty incredible to see what he's done."

Robinson Cano, named the co-American League player of the week, went 2-for-4 to raise his average to .294. The team has gone 10-3 since the All-Star break, averaging 7.62 runs per game.

Clemens was outstanding. He gave up two earned runs, four hits and no walks in seven innings in his best road effort since joining the club last month. In five starts this month, he is 2-1 with a 2.62 ERA, having allowed 10 earned runs and 25 hits in 34 1/3 innings.



Melky Cabrera, left, greets Derek Jeter after they both scored on a single by Hideki Matsui in the first inning.

The Royals scored their first run in the fourth inning. Mark Grudzielanek led off with a double, reached third on Mark Teahen's grounder and scored on a wild pitch. The other Royals run was a solo home run by East Hampton product Ross Gload with one out in the seventh.

Vizcaino, who pitched a perfect eighth, quietly has wrested the role of setup man from Kyle Farnsworth. He picked up wins in both games of Saturday's doubleheader and has been lock-down in late innings the past two months. Vizcaino is 6-1 with a 0.99 ERA in his last 29 games.

"I think the difference is I have more confidence," Vizcaino said. "I'm throwing the ball pretty good, and I'm throwing more strikes. Right now my mechanics are on."

The Yankees took a quick 4-0 lead against Royals starter Odalis Perez (5-9). After Melky Cabrera walked and Derek Jeter singled with one out in the first, Rodriguez's grounder moved the runners up and Matsui singled them home.

In the second, Cano and rookie Shelley Duncan - whose parents and brother were in the stands - singled to set up a two-run double by Damon.

The Yankees wouldn't score again until the ninth inning, when they more than doubled their total. Aided by a couple of Royals errors, the Yankees slapped five runs on the board against relievers Ryan Braun and Jimmy Gobble.

Singles by Damon, Cabrera and Rodriguez made it 5-2, and Gobble replaced Braun. Matsui walked to load the bases and Posada singled home two runs. Cano's sacrifice fly made it 8-2 and Grudzielanek dropped Andy Phillips' pop-up to allow the final run to score.