American League Roundup : Clemens Sends a Message by Stopping Kansas City With a Three-Hitter, 8-0

Roger Clemens served notice to the Kansas City Royals and the rest of the American League Tuesday night that his spring training is just about complete.

The hard-throwing right-hander who was the best pitcher in baseball a year ago, held the Royals to three hits and pitched the Red Sox to an 8-0 victory at Boston.

It was the first victory for Clemens, who won his first 14 decisions on his way to a 24-4 record, the Cy Young and Most Valuable Player awards last season.

Clemens (1-2) left spring training early in March over a salary dispute and he needed two starts to warm up when he rejoined the club just before the season opened.

After a shaky first inning in which he hit the leadoff batter and walked a batter, Clemens was magnificent. He retired 16 in a row before Frank White spoiled his no-hit bid with a clean single opening the seventh inning.

Bill Buckner, with a pair of two-run singles, and Dwight Evans, who homered, doubled and singled, each drove in four runs to make it easy for Clemens.

Although he is 23 victories behind his 1986 total, Clemens has equaled his shutout production.

After his first start, at home against Toronto in which he was sharp for three innings then fell apart, Clemens ran through the Fenway Park neighborhood.

“I needed some exercise in my legs after pitching four innings,” was his explanation. It was similar rigorous training that brought him to a peak by his third start.

The performance in his third start impressed just about everyone but Clemens.

“I’m not all the way back,” he said. “When it’s meant to be, it’ll happen. It was just my third outing of spring training. I’m getting there (to full strength). I don’t know when I’ll be there.”

Royals’ Manager Billy Gardner said if he’d had spring training, Clemens would be 3-0.

New York 3, Detroit 1--The sensational pitching continues at New York and the Yankees are closing in on first place in the East.

Joe Niekro, troubled with injuries since the middle of last season, held the Tigers to two singles until he was literally knocked out of the box in the seventh, as the Yankees won their eighth in a row.

A smash by Johnny Grubb hit Niekro in the left wrist and the veteran right-hander had to leave the game.

In the last four games, the supposedly suspect Yankee pitching staff has yielded only four runs, only two of them earned. The Tigers’ run was unearned.

Dan Pasqua hit a home run for one Yankee run and the other two scored on double plays. In the fifth, after Pasqua homered, Wayne Tollefson hit into a double play as a run scored and in the sixth a run scored while Dave Winfield hit into a double play.

Despite Milwaukee’s opening 13-game winning streak, the streaking Yankees are only two games behind in the East.

Cleveland 5, Toronto 0--Cory Snyder and Pat Tabler hit two-run home runs at Cleveland and Tom Candiotti pitched a six-hitter to give the Indians their third win in the last four games.

It was the first complete game for Candiotti, the knuckleballer who led the league in complete games last season. Jimmy Key (3-1) was the victim of the home runs.

Minnesota 6, Seattle 1--Les Straker, who spent 10 seasons in the minors, held the Mariners to three hits in seven innings at Minneapolis for his first major league victory.

In his first start April 11 at Seattle, the 27-year-old right-hander from Venezuela, gave up six hits and five runs in four innings, but escaped defeat.

Tom Brunansky hit a three-run homer in the first for the Twins who are 10-4 for the second-best start in their 27-year history. In 1972 they were 11-3.

Texas 6, Baltimore 4--It was a good night for knuckleballers in the league. In addition to Candiotti and Niekro, Charlie Hough gained a victory in this game at Arlington, Tex., to end the Rangers’ nine-game losing streak.

Ruben Sierra hit a three-run home run in the first inning and Hough, although he gave up 10 hits, went the distance for his first victory.