Roger Clemens shook off some early rust and gave the surging New York Yankees the lift they were looking for, leading them to a 9-3 victory on Saturday over the Pittsburgh Pirates in his long-awaited season debut.
Pitching in pinstripes for the first time in four years, Clemens labored through the first few innings but got more effective as the afternoon wore on. He struck out seven in six solid innings and retired his final seven batters, leaving with a signature fist pump.
Making his latest comeback, the 44-year-old Clemens allowed three runs, five hits and two walks against the punchless Pirates, who entered with the lowest on-base percentage in the National League.
Alex Rodriguez drove in two runs for the Yankees, who have won a season-best five straight and eight of 10 overall. Robinson Cano had three hits.
Though his fastball was far from overpowering, Clemens (1-0) earned his 349th win -- eighth on the career list. He finished the day with 4,611 career strikeouts, passing Randy Johnson for second place behind Nolan Ryan (5,714).
The Yankees quickly gave Clemens a 3-1 lead in the bottom half of the first inning. Jeter's double put runners at second and third before Rodriguez hit an RBI groundout. Jeter scored on Jorge Posada's single, and Cano added an RBI single off Paul Maholm (2-9).
Athletics 6, Giants 0
At San Francisco, Oakland beat up on its former ace again, chasing Barry Zito after four innings.
Zito (6-6) gave up nine hits and four runs -- three earned -- and the Giants lost for their sixth time in eight games. Barry Bonds went 2-for-4 with two singles and two strikeouts.
Astros 3, White Sox 2
At Chicago, Lance Berkman hit an RBI single in the top of the ninth and Houston won back-to-back games for the first time since the middle of last month.
The White Sox have lost 12 of 14. Berkman singled to drive in Adam Everett against Bobby Jenks (2-2).
Tigers 8, Mets 7
At Detroit, Carlos Guillen hit a three-run home run, Jeremy Bonderman won his sixth straight start and Detroit won for the fifth time in seven games.
Bonderman (6-0) gave up eight hits and six runs -- five earned -- while striking out four in six-plus innings. Bonderman has won each of his last six starts.
Angels 9, Cardinals 3
At St. Louis, Chone Figgins had four hits and pitcher Ervin Santana started a four-run fourth inning with a two-run double as the Los Angeles Angels downed St. Louis.
Figgins had RBI singles in the fourth and ninth and extended his hitting streak to nine games. He is batting .525 (21-for-40) during the streak. He also stole two bases after swiping a career-high three against the Cardinals on Friday.
Indians 8, Reds 6
At Cincinnati, Grady Sizemore homered and had three hits and Cleveland overcame Ken Griffey Jr.'s 578th career home run to beat Cincinnati.
David Dellucci hit a two-run home run in the eighth to erase a 6-4 deficit and Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez drove in runs in the 11th.
Blue Jays 1, Dodgers 0
At Los Angeles, Shaun Marcum pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning, Matt Stairs homered and Toronto snapped a three-game losing streak to edge the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Marcum (3-2) scattered seven hits, walked none and struck out three in 6 2-3 innings.
Rangers 4, Brewers 3
At Arlington, Texas, Michael Young singled off Francisco Cordero with two outs in the ninth to cap a four-run ninth-inning rally for Texas against Milwaukee.
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