Clemens wins 350th; Rodriguez is injured

Now that Roger Clemens has his 350th win, Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees are worried about a more mundane number: 15 days on the disabled list.

Clemens reached a rare milestone with a vintage performance, pitching eight innings of two-hit ball to lead New York past the Minnesota Twins, 5-1, Monday night.

But the Yankees’ excitement over his achievement was tempered a bit by Rodriguez’s strained left hamstring, which forced the star slugger out of the game.

“It was not good, and that’s the downer of the night,” Clemens said. “We need him.”

Clemens became the first major leaguer to win 350 games since Hall of Famer Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves accomplished the feat by beating the Chicago Cubs, 2-0, on Sept. 29, 1963 -- just more than a year after Clemens was born. Yankees Manager Joe Torre was Spahn’s catcher in that game.

“I’m not as old as I thought I was,” Clemens said with a wry smile.

Bobby Abreu hit a go-ahead homer and finished with three hits for the Yankees, who won for only the third time in 12 games. Rodriguez got his 80th run batted in on a first-inning grounder, then left in the sixth after an awkward play at first base.

Rodriguez tripped over first baseman Justin Morneau’s ankle while beating out a potential double play. He remained in the game and advanced to second but told third base coach Larry Bowa he wouldn’t be able to score on a single.

That’s when Torre pulled Rodriguez, who was limping slightly in the clubhouse after the game. His leg was wrapped and he was scheduled for tests today.

“We’re going to sleep on it and see how it feels in the morning. Right now it’s just a little sore, tender,” Rodriguez said.