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ABJ

6/23/06

Clemens outdueled by rookie in 2006 debut

CHRIS DUNCAN

Associated Press


DAVID J. PHILLIP, AP
Houston Astros pitcher Roger Clemens yells towards the plate during the third inning vs. the Minnesota Twins on Thursday, June 22, 2006, in Houston.

<!-- begin body-content -->HOUSTON - Roger Clemens showed his age. Francisco Liriano showed his stuff. In The Rocket's return to the majors, the Minnesota rookie ace looked more like the Clemens of old, striking out seven in eight strong innings to lead the Twins to a 4-2 victory over the Houston Astros on Thursday night.
"You take a lot of memories away from a game like this," the 22-year-old Liriano said. "You maybe will not ever be on the field with him again."
Liriano, 7 months old when Clemens started his big league career, improved to 7-1, allowing his only runs on Jason Lane's two-run homer in the seventh.
With a Minute Maid Park-record 43,769 fans on hand to see the 43-year-old Clemens, the seven-time Cy Young winner threw 100 pitches in five innings in his first start since leaving Game 1 of the World Series eight months ago with a strained hamstring.
He allowed two runs on six hits and had four strikeouts and two walks. He also made an error, struck out in his only at-bat and hustled to first to complete a double play.
"It was positive," Clemens said. "My body felt better than expected and I hope and expect to get stronger each time I get out there."
Clemens got a standing ovation as he walked from the dugout to the bullpen 20 minutes before the game. As he warmed up, a fan held up a fluorescent sign that read: "Clemens is Proof the 40s is the new 30s." Another fan wearing a helmet and a bright orange spacesuit had one that said, "That's a Roger, Houston, Our Rocket Has Landed."
Cameras flashed in every corner of the park as Clemens fired his first pitch, a 91-mph strike, to Luis Castillo.
"When I walked out, it was great," Clemens said. "After I came out of the game, I was hearing the numbers and the record crowd and the people turning out. It was very gratifying that they appreciate your hard work and that they're out here to support us."
On a 1-2 count, Castillo bounced a ball back to Clemens, who dropped the ball and couldn't scoop it up before Castillo reached first base safely. Clemens was charged with an error.
The next batter grounded into a double play before Joe Mauer, who leads the majors in hitting, struck out.
Clemens (0-1) glided through the first inning in 12 pitches, nine of them strikes.
"I was really excited about how my legs felt in my warmup session," he said. "I knew I was going to be fairly crisp."
Astros manager Phil Garner said Clemens would throw "around 100 pitches" in the game and he was more than halfway there after a withering third inning.
He gave up an RBI double to Jason Kubel and a run-scoring single to Michael Cuddyer, finally ending the 38-pitch inning by striking out Torii Hunter.
"I had that one long inning and I was trying to make a point to work fast and see how winded I could get and it worked out fine," Clemens said. "I really didn't feel like I was sitting on my back leg or collapsing. Overall, it was just good to get back out there."
In the fifth, Clemens lumbered over to cover first base on a 3-6-1 double play. He pointed at the umpire to make sure he got the call before slowly retreating to the mound.
Russ Springer relieved Clemens to open the sixth and the Twins extended their lead to 3-0 on Justin Morneau's homer.
Garner said Clemens may have rushed his return, but Clemens insisted he's ready for the grind of the remaining season.
"I'm excited about it, but I know the work that's involved," Clemens said. "I've got a lot of work in front of me. It's going to be a huge challenge."
Picking up a trend from last year, the Astros failed to give Clemens much run support. The Rocket was 13-8 with a career-best 1.87 ERA in 32 starts last season, but Houston was shut out in nine of his starts and scored three runs or fewer in 20 of them.
This time, it was mostly due to the left-handed Liriano, who baffled the Astros with a slider that made Clemens look bad when he struck out in the third.
"That machine I've been hitting off for two weeks didn't throw that slider," Clemens said.
Liriano faced the minimum through the first six innings, thanks to double plays in three of them. He walked Craig Biggio leading off the seventh before retiring three straight batters.
It was the longest outing of the season for Liriano, who struck out a career-high 11 batters in his last start.
"It was fun to watch Roger," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said, "but on our side, it was actually more fun to watch Francisco."
Clemens has the best record of any pitcher against the Twins (23-13), but he wasn't able to improve it. He did continue his domination of Hunter, though. Hunter faced Clemens twice, with a flyout and a strikeout, to fall to 0-for-22 with 13 strikeouts in his career against the right-hander.
Hunter thinks Clemens will get better as this season progresses.
"Roger's 43," Hunter said. "There's no way he's going to be like he used to. He's throwing 91, not 98 or 99 like he used to. You can't expect him to be that great.
"But he still looks good."
Notes: The Astros purchased Clemens' contract from Triple-A Round Rock before the game. ... Cuddyer extended his hitting streak to seven games. ... Astros 1B Lance Berkman extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
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