AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Clemens Returns to Form With Shutout

Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox pitched a two-hitter and struck out 10 Wednesday night to out-duel Steve Karsay and get his first shutout in nearly a year.

Clemens gave up only a leadoff single to Stan Javier in the fourth and a one-out single to Mike Brumley in the fifth as the Red Sox defeated the Oakland Athletics, 2-0, at Boston.

It was Clemens’ 36th shutout, the first since May 11 at Baltimore. He recorded 10 strikeouts for the 55th time.

“I don’t know if down the road I’d be afforded the opportunity to finish,” Clemens (2-0) said. “I needed to smell the finish line. I think if I let a guy on in the ninth, I was out of there.”

Karsay (1-1), a rookie who began the game with the American League’s best earned-run average at 0.60., matched Clemens in strikeouts and scoreless innings until the seventh, when he gave up both runs.

“I saw him in Yankee Stadium growing up,” said Karsay, 22, who grew up in New York. “But it was a little different seeing him from the dugout than seeing him from the stands, especially the way he was throwing.”

Toronto 4, Texas 3--Pat Borders hit a two-out single in the 11th inning to score John Olerud and lift the Blue Jays at Toronto to their fourth consecutive victory.

Olerud and Carlos Delgado worked Tom Henke (1-1) for consecutive one-out walks before Ed Sprague bounced into a fielder’s choice, sending Olerud to third. Borders followed with a single, handing the Rangers their fourth loss in a row.

Dave Stewart gave up one run and seven hits in seven innings, but Todd Stottlemyre (2-0) gained the victory by yielding one hit over 3 2/3 innings.

Kansas City 11, Detroit 6--Gary Gaetti hit two home runs and tied a career high with six runs batted in as the Royals won for the sixth time in seven games by defeating the Tigers at Detroit.

Gaetti, who had three hits, hit a three-run homer off Jose Lima in the second and added a three-run shot in the fifth off Bill Krueger. Lima (0-1), making his first major league start, gave up five hits and six runs in four innings. David Cone (2-1) yielded five runs and nine hits in 6 1/3 innings.

Chicago 8, Milwaukee 6--Tim Raines had three singles and walked four times to tie an American League record by reaching base seven times in a game without making an out and Julio Franco singled home the go-ahead run in the 12th inning at Milwaukee.

New York 7, Seattle 4--After struggling to score against Randy Johnson for seven innings, the Yankees broke through for four runs in the eighth inning against Bobby Ayala (1-1) at New York.

The Yankees managed only three runs against Johnson despite having 15 runners. But they took advantage of two misplayed bunts, three walks and an error, to rally in the eighth.

Minnesota 6, Cleveland 5--The Indians’ Steve Farr (0-1) walked in a run with the bases loaded and defensive replacement Wayne Kirby made a fielding error that allowed the winning run as the Twins rallied for two runs in the ninth inning at Minneapolis.