Clemens Almost Upstaged by Rookie

Roger Clemens barely overshadowed an impressive major league debut by Baltimore left-hander John Parrish Monday night at Baltimore.

Clemens (9-6) won his fifth consecutive start in a 4-3 New York Yankee victory, giving up three runs, six hits and striking out six in six innings. But he also gave up five walks, tying his season high, and had only one perfect inning.

Parrish, a 22-year-old who never pitched above the double-A level before this year, struck out nine, including Jorge Posada three times, and allowed only three earned runs, four hits and two walks in seven innings.

Parrish struck out the side on 12 pitches in the first, blowing away Chuck Knoblauch, Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams.

“That was a good feeling. I’m going to remember that for a long time,” Parrish said. “It was a great debut for me, something I’ll always remember. I’m pretty excited about the way I pitched.”

The rookie retired 11 in a row at one point, efficiently mixing a sweeping curve with a 93 mph fastball. His nine strikeouts tied a team record by an Oriole in his major league debut.

The Orioles didn’t offer Parrish much support, going one for 14 with runners in scoring position.

Glenallen Hill, acquired by Friday in a trade with Chicago Cubs, homered in his first at-bat for the Yankees, who have won seven of 10.

Chicago 7, Kansas City 6--Magglio Ordonez hit a go-ahead three-run home with two out in the seventh inning at Chicago.

“Magglio is emerging and evolving into a force in the league,” White Sox Manager Jerry Manuel said of his shy right fielder who had to be coaxed out of the dugout for a curtain call. “A lot of managers talk to me about him around the batting cage. They think he’s one of the most dangerous hitters in the league. He’s probably a secret to fans, but opposing managers really have a lot of respect for Magglio.”

Carlos Lee hit a two-run homer in the second and an RBI single in the sixth for the White Sox.

Johnny Damon had three hits and three RBIs and rookie Mark Quinn had a career-high four hits for the Royals, who dropped their third in a two.

Seattle 6, Oakland 4--Edgar Martinez hit his 25th home run and Jamie Moyer (11-3) won for the eighth time in nine decisions as the Mariners beat the Athletics at Seattle.

Martinez’s fourth-inning homer gave him a major-league leading 94 RBIs.

Moyer, who has won six in a row against the A’s, gave up three runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings. Kazuhiro Sasaki pitched the ninth, giving up an RBI single to Terrence Long, for his 24th save in 26 opportunities. He’s been successful in his last 14 chances.

Kevin Appier (8-8) tied a career high with his fifth loss in a row. He allowed five runs on nine hits and six walks in six innings, and remained winless since June 23.

Tampa Bay 4, Detroit 2--Roberto Hernandez earned his 250th career save and Greg Vaughn had three hits, including a two-run single, as the Devil Rays won at Detroit.

Hernandez, who served up his share of home runs in cozy Tiger Stadium, already is a fan of cavernous Comerica Park.

“This is a legit ballpark. If you’re going to hit [a home run] you’ve got to really crank it,” Hernandez said.

The Devil Rays, who have won three of four at Comerica Park, won for just the third time in their last 10 games. They’ve lost 15 of their last 23.

Hernandez pitched a perfect ninth, earning his 16th save in 21 chances, to thwart Detroit’s final hope of a third straight comeback win.

Minnesota 4, Boston 2--Eric Milton allowed four hits in eight shutout innings at Boston as the Twins beat the Red Sox for the first time in eight games this season.

Last Sept. 11, Milton no-hit the Angels, but Manager Tom Kelly was more impressed with Monday’s effort.

“That may be the best game he’s ever pitched,” Kelly said. “I know he’s pitched a no-hitter and you’re going to say ‘What the heck are you talking about?’, but he mixed all of his pitches. He threw 111 pitches and pitched a heck of a game.”

Milton gave up seven runs in three innings during a 14-4 loss to Boston on July 4, triggering a rough stretch in which he went 0-4 with an 8.02 ERA.

Milton (9-6) seems to be part that. He allowed only one runner to reach second base Monday, when Jeff Frye doubled leading off the fourth. After Frye’s hit he retired the side in order, striking out the last two. He finished with one walk and eight strikeouts.

“He’s been tough in the past,” Boston catcher Scott Hatteberg said. “You’ve got a guy like that on the mound and it’s tough to score runs. Good pitching beats good hitting.”

Boston, which lost for just the fourth time in 12 games since the All-Star break, outscored the Twins 68-37 in the previous seven meetings.

Corey Koskie and Chad Moeller each drove in runs for the Twins.