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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
NEW YORK (AP) – Roger Clemens was as focused as ever Wednesday
night, wasting little time on the mound as he snapped off one
overpowering split-fingered fastball after another.
|  | | Chuck Knoblauch, right, gives the Yankees some breathing room with this seventh-inning homer. |
The Yankees' right-hander did make sure to pause and thank
teammates Bernie Williams and Alfonso Soriano, though, after each
made a key contribution to his 264th career victory.
Clemens struck out eight in eight strong innings, Williams
stopped an 0-for-13 drought with an RBI single and Soriano started
a key double play as New York beat the Minnesota Twins 2-0.
"It was nice to have some life in the arm again. The split was
sharp and the slider was good and it was for strikes," said
Clemens (4-0). "I've been giving up some real cheapies, whether it
be defensively or just making mistakes. This was a game where you
couldn't do that."
He allowed four hits and walked one in lowering his ERA from
4.60 to 3.93. Only two Twins got as far as second base while
Clemens was in the game – Luis Rivas in the sixth inning and Doug
Mientkiewicz in the seventh.
"If you didn't hit his first pitch, you were pretty much
praying you could get something to hit before he blew you away,"
said Minnesota's Chad Allen, who struck out twice.
Trouble seemed to be looming in the eighth as Clemens tried to
hold his two-run lead. With one out, Cristian Guzman got his second
single of the game, bringing Rivas to the plate and sending Yankees
manager Joe Torre from the dugout to the mound.
Clemens was relieved to see his manager running, he said,
because Torre walks out slowly when he plans to remove a pitcher.
On the very next pitch – "the first two-seam fastball I'd
thrown all night," Clemens said – Rivas slapped a one-hopper that
Soriano, a rookie, backhanded to start a double play.
Clemens pumped his fist, slapped his glove and then stopped his
walk to the dugout to greet Soriano with an extended hand.
"He's a star – it made me feel good," said Soriano, who wasn't
a second baseman until this season.
"I surprised myself with that play."
Williams, whose struggles at the plate prompted Torre to drop
him from fourth to fifth in the lineup for the game, broke a
scoreless tie by hitting a first-pitch single off Joe Mays (4-2) in
the sixth inning. That scored Paul O'Neill, who had walked.
"It was a hit, an RBI. Hopefully I'll build from there,"
Williams said. "Every year I go through stretches like this."
After that half-inning, Clemens yelled his thanks to Williams,
the 1998 AL batting champion who entered game with a .205 average.
"You always acknowledge that when you get a chance," Clemens
said.
The only other offense Clemens would get – or need – was Chuck
Knoblauch's third homer of the season, a line shot to right off
Eddie Guardado after the reliever struck out the first two batters
in the seventh.
"The first run was a breath of fresh air for me and the home
run by Knobby felt like I had a five-run game," Clemens said. "I
was able to rear back and get a couple of big strikeouts when I
needed them. That's when you're happy to be a strikeout pitcher."
Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth for his 10th save.
Mays allowed one run in 5 1-3 innings, his shortest outing of
the season.
"Joe pitched pretty good. He gave us a chance to win," Twins
manager Tom Kelly said. "We just couldn't do anything with
Roger."
Game notes
Clemens moved one win away from tying Jim McCormick for
32nd in major league history. ... Williams had hit fourth in 22 of
his 23 games this season. ... Twins LF Jacque Jones made two slick
defensive plays, including reaching over the fence to rob Jorge
Posada of a home run in the fifth. Jones also slid to make a catch
near the stands on O'Neill's foul pop in the first. SS Guzman and
3B Corey Koskie both stumbled over Jones on the play, and O'Neill
threw his batting helmet when the umpire ruled it a catch. ... A
fan ran into right field during the top of the seventh and was
corralled thanks to a hard, running tackle by a security guard, who
was given a standing ovation when he returned to his post.
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OTHER GAMES
Baseball Scoreboard
Minnesota Clubhouse
NY Yankees Clubhouse
RECAPS
Seattle 10
Boston 5
Cleveland 5
Kansas City 1
Detroit 3
Texas 2
NY Yankees 2
Minnesota 0
Oakland 8
Toronto 5
Baltimore 8
Tampa Bay 6
Chi. White Sox 6
Anaheim 5
Houston 7
Philadelphia 6
Chicago Cubs 6
Milwaukee 3
St. Louis 6
Pittsburgh 2
Colorado 6
NY Mets 0
Arizona 5
Cincinnati 2
Atlanta 3
San Diego 0
Los Angeles 3
Florida 2
Montreal 8
San Francisco 0
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