Clemens, Yankees Find Groove

Roger Clemens passed another pitching milestone Wednesday night, moving into 35th place on the all-time victory list with the 255th win of his career.

Few of them have been easier.

Staked to an early lead by the New York Yankees, Clemens cruised to a 9-1 victory over the visiting Detroit Tigers.

“The guys scored early and you want to make it hold up,” Clemens said, after limiting the Tigers to six hits and striking out 11 over eight innings while walking none.

It was the 96th time in his career that Clemens (8-6) has had 10 or more strikeouts in a game, fourth on the all-time list and one back of Sandy Koufax. The win moved him one ahead of Hall of Famer Red Faber and Jack Morris.

It was also his fourth straight victory since returning from the disabled list after straining a groin.

“He was good,” Manager Joe Torre said. “He looked very confident to me. His splitter was terrific. I was very content watching.”

The Yankees’ big blows were Paul O’Neill’s two-run homer, Derek Jeter’s bases-loaded triple and David Justice’s fourth homer with the team.

Toronto 5, Tampa Bay 2--Kelvim Escobar allowed only two hits in eight innings and Brad Fullmer drove in three runs as the Blue Jays defeated the Devil Rays at Toronto.

Escobar (7-9) struck out eight and walked four. Billy Koch pitched the ninth for his 22nd save.

Albie Lopez (6-7) was the loser for the Devil Rays, 3-14 all-time in Canada, including 2-12 in Toronto.

Chicago 3, Minnesota 2--Brook Fordyce broke out of a one-for-18 slump with three hits, including a homer, to back the solid pitching of rookie left-hander Mark Buehrle as the visiting White Sox won their fifth consecutive game.

Buehrle (1-0), who had pitched only one big-league inning, went seven innings and allowed two runs on six hits.

Eric Milton (8-6) lost his fourth straight start.

Seattle 6, Oakland 3--Jamie Moyer extended his Oakland Coliseum winning streak to four starts and Mark McLemore drove in three runs as the Mariners defeated the Athletics.

Moyer (10-3), who has won seven of his last eight starts, allowed three runs on six hits in seven-plus innings and struck out four.

Oakland starter Kevin Appier (8-7), 0-4 over his last five starts, allowed six runs over six-plus innings.

Kansas City 10, Cleveland 5--Dave McCarty hit a grand slam and Johnny Damon had a three-run homer to power the Royals past the Indians at Cleveland.

Chuck Finley (8-7) took the loss after allowing only three hits over the first five innings.

Mac Suzuki (5-4) got the victory as Kansas City won two in a row for the first time since June 28-29.

Baltimore at Boston, ppd., rain--A persistent rain washed out the game between the Red Sox and Orioles, which will be made up today as part of a doubleheader.