Another Win for Clemens

With the way Roger Clemens is pitching, Bert Blyleven should consider warming up.

Clemens struck out 13 and recorded his 287th win, pitching the New York Yankees past the Minnesota Twins, 3-0, Sunday at Yankee Stadium.

Clemens (7-2) moved past Hall of Famer Robin Roberts and into a tie with Blyleven for 22nd place on baseball’s all-time victory list.

“I spoke with him briefly in Minnesota and again here,” Clemens said of Blyleven, a broadcaster for the Twins who worked the game.

“If I catch him, he’s coming back. That’s what he said, he’s mounting a comeback. I said, ‘All right, get ready.’”

Clemens gave up four hits in eight innings and won his sixth consecutive start. He set a season high for strikeouts and walked two.

“He can’t go nine, can he?” quipped Blyleven, who last pitched in 1992. “Actually, I think it was great. He’s going to continue going up the ladder.”

Next in line for Clemens on the career victory chart is former Dodger and Yankee left-hander Tommy John, who is at 288.

Including last weekend’s three-game sweep at the Metrodome, the Yankees finished 6-0 against Minnesota. It was the first time in the Twins’ 42-year history that they did not win a game against the Yankees.

Boston 3, Seattle 2--Brian Daubach doubled in the go-ahead run at Fenway Park in the series between the teams with the two best records in baseball.

The Red Sox won the last two games after losing the opener to the AL West leaders.

That enabled Boston to keep the best record in the majors (29-11) over Seattle (29-14).

Boston Manager Grady Little missed the game because of the death of his mother, Dorothy, in Bryan, Texas, on Saturday. Bench coach Mike Stanley ran the team.

Toronto 11, Oakland 0--Esteban Loaiza (2-0) didn’t take long to prove that he’s sound, throwing a two-hitter in his second start of the season as the Blue Jays completed a three-game sweep at Toronto. It was Toronto’s first three-game sweep since last Aug. 24-26 at Baltimore. The Athletics have lost 13 of 16.

Tampa Bay 4, Baltimore 0--Greg Vaughn hit two home runs for the second game in a row at Baltimore and rookies Travis Harper (1-1) and Steve Kent combined for the Devil Rays’ first shutout of the season. Vaughn ended a homerless streak at 222 at-bats Saturday night. He has 348 home runs in his career.

Kansas City 5, Cleveland 4--The Indians’ Jim Thome couldn’t handle Carlos Beltran’s two-out grounder, which bounced through the first baseman’s legs and allowed two runs to score as the Royals rallied in the ninth inning at Cleveland. The Royals are 6-1 against the Indians since May 9.

Detroit 2, Texas 1--Seth Greisinger (2-1) gave up one run and five hits in 62/3 innings and Dmitri Young homered to lead the Tigers to a three-game sweep at Detroit.