Roger Clemens picked up win No. 350 looking like the Rocket of old, throwing eight innings giving up just two hits.
BY KAT O'BRIEN
kat.obrien@newsday.com
Roger Clemens made history Monday night with the 350th win of his career.
The Yankees are hoping to make some history of their own with a second-half surge that carries them back into postseason contention.
Clemens became only the eighth pitcher in major-league history with 350 wins, and just the second in the last 75 years. The 44-year-old Clemens, whose wife, Debbie, was there for the milestone victory, dominated the Twins in a 5-1 Yankees win at Yankee Stadium. He pitched eight innings of one-run ball. He gave up just two hits and a walk and retired the final 15 batters he faced.
"I'll probably look at the history another time," Clemens said. "I just feel really blessed. I don't know how else to put it. To be linked with the guys I was linked with back when I was going for 300 was great. I just feel like everything that's happened since 2003 is a blessing."
In each of the past four seasons, there has been a question whether Clemens would pitch another year. Each time, he has eventually decided to give it a go. Clemens' 300th win came at Yankee Stadium in June 2003, which was the last time the Yankees made the World Series. Clemens promised he won't be around to get 400, saying he would be having a beer with Monday night's home plate umpire Wally Bell, who happened to be the umpire for his 300th win.
"I don't see that happening," Clemens said of 400.
But 350 was indeed sweet. Given the Yankees' recent struggles -- they had dropped nine of their previous 11 -- Clemens knew how much the team needed a win. He gave them everything possible. The Twins managed one run against him, in the second inning.
"That was dominant," said Joe Torre, who caught Warren Spahn's 350th win. "It was really a lift that we needed. He had to make good pitches all night, and he did."
Clemens' success this season and that of the Yankees are intricately linked. If Clemens can be anywhere near as dominant as he was Monday night, then the Yankees' chances of re-entering the playoff race greatly improve. The Yankees must also hope that MVP candidate Alex Rodriguez, who left Monday night's game with a strained left hamstring and is day-to-day, can avoid the disabled list.
Before the game, Torre and general manager Brian Cashman said they need their players to improve performance in order for the team to make some noise. Cashman said that this team really hasn't "earned reinforcements" in that it has not shown it can compete for a championship, and why mortgage the future for a team that is unlikely to make the playoffs.
"I'm making phone calls and checking with my counterparts to see what might make sense," Cashman said, "but what makes the most sense is trying to have these guys find a way to play better baseball ... If I chose to put Phil Hughes out on the market, we could have done something already. I chose not to do that."
Torre singled out Bobby Abreu, Hideki Matsui and Robinson Cano as hitters who need to step up. Abreu made a step in that direction Monday night. He went 3-for-4 with a monster home run that landed midway up the third deck of the stands in rightfield. That homer gave the Yankees a 2-1 sixth-inning lead, and they added three more runs in that inning.
Bobby Abreu and umpire Wally Bell, left, watch Abreu's home run against the Minnesota Twins during sixth inning.
"It feels very good," Abreu said, with a rare smile. "I needed a game like this. It's been a tough season for me so far."
Clemens said of Abreu: "Since I've been here, when Bobby hits, we're a lot different lineup. When I was over there , he was the guy that you didn't want to beat you."
If Clemens and Abreu can again put up the kind of numbers they did the past several years, the Yankees may have hope yet.
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