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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
NEW YORK (AP) – Roger Clemens was more effective on the mound
than Cleveland counterpart Bartolo Colon, and more importantly,
felt better once he left it, too.
|  | | Jorge Posada drove in five runs, including a three-run homer in the second inning, for the Yankees on Saturday. |
Jorge Posada homered twice and drove in five runs and David
Justice added two solo shots to give Clemens enough support before
his right leg cramped up in the New York Yankees' 9-4 win over the
Indians on Saturday.
With Posada and Justice providing the power for the Yankees, the
biggest drama came when Clemens grabbed the back of his leg in the
sixth inning.
"Once I saw him limping around I feared the worst," Yankees
manager Joe Torre said.
Fortunately for New York, it was just a cramp. Clemens stayed in
to face one more batter and felt fine afterward.
"I felt my leg buckle under me and I felt it cramp," Clemens
said. "When I got up and straightened it out, it was better."
The Indians might not be so fortunate.
Colon left the game after five ineffective innings with pain in
his right elbow and will be examined again Sunday.
"I'm worried about it because in the minor leagues when I had
this pain I was out for the rest of the year," he said.
It's especially troublesome for the Indians, who just put Chuck
Finely on the disabled list Saturday. Also, Jaret Wright and
Charles Nagy are coming back from offseason operations on their
throwing arms.
"Hopefully if everything is OK he will join us in Minnesota and
pitch his regular turn," manager Charlie Manuel said. "If not,
we'll have to do something about it."
Posada hit a three-run homer in the second inning off Colon
(4-6) and a solo shot in the sixth against Steve Reed for his sixth
career multihomer game. Posada added an RBI double in the seventh.
The Yankees overcame a big day by Cleveland slugger Jim Thome.
He went 4-for-5 with a pair of solo homers and a double off
Clemens, and three runs scored.
Thome has seven homers in 51 career at-bats against Clemens.
"Roger's a Hall of Fame type guy," Thome said. "It's hard to
explain. I was just fortunate to get a ball to hit and I hit it."
Clemens struggled for the second straight start against the
Indians, but got the win again anyway. Cleveland had runners on
base in all six innings against Clemens, who allowed four runs and
nine hits. Clemens gave up five runs in seven innings of a 12-5 win
over Cleveland last Saturday.
Clemens, 38, tied Hall of Famers Bob Feller and Eppa Rixey for
30th on the career list with 266 wins. He grabbed his right
hamstring trying to field Kenny Lofton's infield hit in the sixth.
"I held my breath a bit," Posada said. "He doesn't go down
easy."
Mike Stanton, pitching on his 34th birthday, went 1 1-3 innings,
and Mariano Rivera got five outs for his 16th save in 17 chances.
Colon gave up five runs and seven hits in five innings to lose
his fourth straight decision, matching his career worst. It was
also the seventh time in Cleveland's last eight games that the
starting pitcher has failed to get an out in the sixth inning.
Justice, traded from Cleveland to New York last June 29, homered
in the third inning off Colon and in the seventh against Rich
Rodriguez for his 22nd career multihomer game.
"I'm just trying to stay aggressive, swing at strikes and hit
the ball hard," Justice said.
Russell Branyan hit a solo shot in the sixth for Cleveland's
third homer.
Trailing 1-0 on Thome's first home run, the Yankees scored four
runs in the second on Posada's ninth home run and an RBI double by
Chuck Knoblauch.
"It was one of those days where everything they threw up there
was a pretty good pitch to hit," Posada said. "I tried to shorten
my swing and the ball traveled."
Thome doubled in the fourth and scored on Einar Diaz's double.
Thome's 13th homer in the fifth and Branyan's 12th an inning later
made it 5-4, but the Yankees scored five runs against Cleveland's
bullpen to put it away.
Game notes
Thome has an extra-base hit in eight straight games with
seven homers in that span. He has 16 career multihomer games. ...
Williams singled in the fifth inning for his 1,500th career hit.
... Cleveland 3B Travis Fryman was activated from the DL and walked
as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning in his first appearance of
the year. He made an error in the bottom half. ... Colon is 0-4
with a 6.06 ERA in his last five starts. ... Yankees PA announcer
Bob Sheppard left the game with voice trouble and was replaced by
PR director Rick Cerrone.
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Mendoza to start Monday as Yankees look for pitching
Shea it isn't so: Torre may bypass Clemens vs. Mets
RECAPS
NY Yankees 9
Cleveland 4
Baltimore 7
Oakland 0
Boston 2
Toronto 1
Chi. White Sox 5
Detroit 3
Texas 3
Minnesota 2
Anaheim 3
Kansas City 2
Seattle 7
Tampa Bay 4
St. Louis 8
Cincinnati 5
Colorado 7
San Francisco 5
Houston 2
Los Angeles 1
NY Mets 7
Florida 1
Chicago Cubs 10
Milwaukee 4
Montreal 12
Philadelphia 5
Atlanta 0
Pittsburgh 0
Arizona 2
San Diego 1
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