Clemens Is Feeling Like His Old Self

Roger Clemens isn’t doing anything different. That, he insists.

He is the same just-try-to-hit-this pitcher he has always been.

Clemens has won three consecutive starts. His earned-run average is 0.36 in that time. He has not given up a home run in 53 innings.

Those numbers wouldn’t raise a eyebrow in seasons past. He is, after all, a three-time Cy Young Award winner with a lengthy resume. Clemens has won 17 or more games seven times. He has led the American League in shutouts five times and strikeouts twice.

Yet Clemens takes a 7-11 record going into tonight’s game against the Angels. He even went 14 consecutive starts without a victory until this three-game winning streak. At 34, “The Rocket” seemed to be sputtering.

But the problem wasn’t with Clemens. That, he insists.

“I’ve thrown the ball pretty good all year,” Clemens said. “Except for maybe one or two times, I’ve pitched well. Nothing has changed.”

One thing has: He’s winning again.

The Red Sox are making a run at the wild-card berth and Clemens is carrying them, as he has so many times in the past.

His streak began Aug. 11, with seven shutout innings in a 2-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. He followed that with a 6-0 victory over the Angels and then ran that scoreless streak to 27 innings in a 2-1 victory over the Oakland A’s in his last start.

After each victory, Clemens was adamant that he is doing nothing different. He has been the same pitcher all season. His teammates wanted to believe it.

“Roger has always been the guy who stopped the bleeding,” catcher Mike Stanley said. “If the team was in a tailspin, it was over when Roger pitched. The other four starters feed off him.”

It’s been a frenzy of late. The Red Sox have won 20 of 26 games to move within three games of Baltimore in the wild-card race.

“We thrive off Roger,” Stanley said.

That motivation was missing earlier this season. Clemens was 0-4 with a 4.17 ERA in his first six starts. The Red Sox started the season 6-19. Clemens then went a month between victories after beating Detroit on July 11.

But the problem wasn’t with Clemens, he insists on that. The blame lay elsewhere. The numbers do back it up.

Clemens leads the league in strikeouts with 196. He has been among the league leaders in ERA and innings pitched all season. Opposing hitters have a .247 batting average, sixth lowest among starters.

Yet, he was 4-11 on Aug. 10.

“The guys on this team have a lot of confidence in Roger,” Manager Kevin Kennedy said. “The flip side to that is sometimes there’s a letup on offense. We’ve been putting everything on Roger, making him pitch shutouts.

“Roger has lived inning to inning all season. Every pitch seems to have been do or die.”

The Red Sox gave him six runs last time against the Angels, but the game was scoreless until the sixth. It took a Troy O’Leary ninth-inning home run to give him his last victory.

“We still aren’t getting him those seven or eight runs,” Kennedy said. “You’ve just seen him go out and dominate like Roger Clemens can.”

Said Clemens: “I’ve been able to throw some zeros up lately. That all it is. I’ve done nothing different.”