Yankees Are No Match for Clemens--He’s 12-0

Unbeaten Roger Clemens, the hottest pitcher in baseball, relived the past for Ron Guidry on Monday night.

Clemens won his 12th straight game with a four-hitter as the Boston Red Sox ripped Guidry and the New York Yankees, 10-1. Clemens’ start is the best in the major leagues since Guidry opened the 1978 season with 13 straight victories.

The major league record for consecutive wins at the start of a season is 19 by Rube Marquard in 1912.

“I wish I could’ve faced him tonight with the same stuff I had eight years ago,” said Guidry, pounded for his sixth straight loss, the longest skid of his career.

The American League East-leading Red Sox ended an eight-game losing streak against the Yankees by rapping 16 hits.

Jim Rice drove in four runs with three singles, while Tony Armas and Rey Quinones each drove in two runs with three hits.

Clemens lowered his league-leading earned-run average to 2.17 and struck out four, raising his total to 108, also the league best. He did not walk a batter.

“It’s a lot easier pitching with a big lead,” Clemens said. “I could go out and play pitch-and-catch with Richie (catcher Gedman).”

Clemens did not allow a hit after Mike Easler’s single in the fourth. The only runner to reach base after that point was Don Mattingly, who reached on an error by Clemens in the sixth.

“I’m not surprised by my success,” Clemens said. “I’ve been throwing the ball well.”

Guidry fell to 4-7. He was tagged for five runs in less than three innings and remained winless since May 10.

“I’m sure he feels the same way I did in 1978,” Guidry said of Clemens. “He can almost tell the guys what’s coming and get them out. He’s not afraid--just like I was.”

Boston won without Wade Boggs, who leads the major leagues with a .380 average but sat out the game because of continued rib problems. His status remains day-to-day.

The Red Sox, meeting the second-place Yankees for the first time this season, struck quickly against Guidry, scoring three times in the first inning.

Marty Barrett led off the game with a single, Ed Romero walked on four pitches and the runners advanced on a groundout. Rice, batting .334 in his career against New York, lined a two-run single and later scored on singles by Don Baylor and Armas.

After the Yankees scored in the second on successive, two-out doubles by Mike Pagliarulo and Ron Hassey, Boston added two runs in the third on RBI singles by Rice--which knocked out Guidry--and Armas.

Bill Buckner doubled home a Red Sox run in the fourth and then scored on a single by Rice, and triples by Armas and Quinones made it 8-1 in the fifth against Ed Whitson.

The Red Sox added two in the ninth on Quinones’ RBI single and Willie Randolph’s error enabling Gedman to score.

A crowd of 45,576 watched the opener of a three-game series. It was a hot and humid night, and several fights broke out in the stands and two smoke bombs were throw on the field. Best Starts Since 1900

Year Pitcher Team Record 1912 Rube Marquard Giants 19-0 1959 ElRoy Face Pirates 17-0 1937 Johnny Allen Indians 15-0 1969 Dave McNally Orioles 15-0 1956 Brooks Lawerence Reds 13-0 1978 Ron Guidry Yankees 13-0 1986 Roger Clemens Red Sox 12-0