Clemens earns win in return to the Yankees

Baseball Betting Lines

06/09/2007 - Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rogers Clemens made his much anticipated 2007 debut and pitched six innings as the New York Yankees downed the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-3, in the second of a three-game set at Yankee Stadium.

Clemens (1-0) struck out seven and walked two while giving up three runs on five hits. He threw a total of 108 pitches, 69 for strikes.

Clemens was initially slated to start this past Monday against the White Sox, but he developed a fatigued groin during his final minor league outing on Memorial Day and an MRI exam revealed disrupted scar tissue.

The seven-time Cy Young Award winner made three minor league starts to ready himself for a return to the majors. He signed a prorated $28 million contract on May 6 to begin a second tenure with the Yankees.

Clemens spent the past three seasons with the Houston Astros after his first retirement following the 2003 campaign with New York. He pitched with the Yankees from 1999 through 2003, winning a pair of World Series titles during his five years with the club.

An 11-time All-Star, Clemens' 349 victories rank eighth in big league history. He is also one of just four pitchers with more than 4,000 strikeouts, as his 4,611 trails only Nolan Ryan on the all-time list.

Alex Rodriguez drove in two runs while Johnny Damon went 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored for the Yankees, who are on a season-high five-game winning streak.

Jack Wilson hit a two-run double and Paul Maholm (2-9) lost his fifth straight decision as he was charged with five runs -- three earned -- on six hits in 5 1/3 innings of work for the Pirates, who have dropped three of their last four games.

The scored was tied in the fifth, but the Yankees grabbed the lead in the frame with one run. Derek Jeter led off with a walk, Bobby Abreu followed with a single and Rodriguez walked to load the bases. Jorge Posada's sacrifice fly to right scored Jeter to make it a 4-3 game.

In his last inning of work in the sixth, Clemens retired the Pirates in order, striking out the final two batters. Also, he retired the final seven batters he faced.

New York padded its lead in the bottom of the sixth with two more runs. After Melky Cabrera worked a one-out walk, John Grabow entered the game. Damon beat out an infield single and Jeter walked to load the bases. Abreu followed with a single to right to score Cabrera and a sacrifice fly from Rodriguez scored Damon to make it a 6-3 game.

The Yankees plated another two runners in the seventh for an 8-3 lead. Tony Armas started the inning on the mound and Robinson Cano led off the frame with a double. Miguel Cairo failed in his sacrifice attempt as he fouled out his bunt attempt, but Cabrera followed with a single to left to score Cano. Cabrera made it to third on the play as Jason Bay was charged with a throwing error. Damon's fielder's choice then scored Cabrera for the five-run lead.

Hideki Matsui's sacrifice fly in the eighth scored Abreu to make it a 9-3 contest.

Luis Vizcaino retired the Pirates in the ninth to close the game.

It was a rough start to the game for Clemens as he gave up a run in the first inning and Pittsburgh took a 1-0 lead. Jose Bautista led off with a single and, after Freddy Sanchez flied out, he advanced to second with Bay at the plate on a wild pitch. Clemens got Bay to strike out, but Adam LaRoche punched a single to center to score Bautista. Clemens then got Xavier Nady to strike out and end the inning.

The Yankees answered in the bottom of the first with three runs to grab the lead. Damon led off with a single and moved to third on a Jeter double. Abreu then grounded out to the pitcher, but Rodriguez followed with a ground out to deep third to plate Damon. Posada followed with a single to left to score Jeter and moved to second on an error from Ronny Paulino. Matsui worked a walk and Cano punched a single to left to score Posada for a 3-1 lead.

The Pirates leadoff hitter got to base in the second and third innings, but Clemens kept Pittsburgh from getting on the board.

Pittsburgh, though, tied the game in the fourth with a pair of runs. Nady punched a one-out single to center and, after Ryan Doumit struck out, Paulino worked a walk. Wilson then nailed a double to right to plate Nady and Paulino to make it a 3-3 game.

Game Notes

To make room for Clemens, who was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre before the game, the Yankees optioned pitcher Chris Britton to Scranton. Also, New York transferred pitcher Phil Hughes from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day disabled list...Before the game, the Pirates placed pitcher Salomon Torres on the 15-day disabled list and purchased the contract of pitcher Masumi Kuwata from Triple-A Indianapolis...Clemens is 6-1 in nine appearances against the Pirates...Rodriguez has 58 RBI on the season.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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