AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Clemens Shaky, but Only Briefly

Roger Clemens may have been a little nervous Friday night at Chicago after coming back after serving his five-day suspension.

Maybe, it was because Terry Cooney, the umpire Clemens had a run-in with during the championship series last fall, was working first base.

Or, maybe Clemens was confused when two of the first three White Sox batters beat out bunts.

Clemens’ scoreless streak ended at 30 innings when he walked in a run. He gave up another on a sacrifice fly.

After that the White Sox couldn’t touch him. Clemens gave up only two hits after the first inning and pitched the Boston Red Sox to a 7-2 victory, his fifth in a row. He has a new string of eight scoreless innings.

“I thought it was going to be a long night after three hits and a walk,” Clemens said. “I had to settle in and get some momentum going.”

In the Red Sox’s playoff loss to Oakland last fall, Clemens became upset because of the way Cooney was calling balls and strikes. After being ejected, Clemens went into a rage and shoved umpire Jim Evans in an attempt to yell at Cooney.

Clemens and Cooney tried to ignore each other this time. In the fourth inning after covering first for the final out, Clemens tossed the ball gently to Cooney and trotted to the dugout.

“It’s been a long winter,” Cooney said before the game. “Roger had his two hearings, and they both came out the same way.”

Clemens seemed ready to drop the subject, too.

“We exchanged thoughts on the subject a long time ago,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to change the way he umpires, and it’s definitely not going to change the way I go about pitching.”

Detroit 7, Texas 6--The Tigers’ home run string seemed about to end at six games. There were two out in the ninth inning at Detroit and reliever Jeff Russell had just thrown a fastball timed at 98 m.p.h.

But Rob Deer timed one right and hit a towering drive into the left-field seats for a two-run homer to tie the score, 6-6.

In the 11th inning, Mickey Tettleton singled to left with one out to score Lou Whitaker from third and cap a comeback from a 6-2 deficit.

New York 5, Seattle 0--So far this season, Scott Sanderson is either very good or terrible.

At Seattle, he was very good, pitching a three-hitter. Although he had a near no-hitter in his first start this season, Sanderson entered this game with a 6.33 earned-run average.

He struck out nine and was tough after Hensley Meulens hit a two-run homer in the second inning.

Toronto 5, Kansas City 1--The way things are going, the light-hitting Royals would rather be anywhere but Kansas City.

David Wells held the Royals to one run in eight innings and the Royal losing streak reached seven. All have been at home.

Storm Davis (2-2) held the Blue Jays to one run until the seventh inning, when Devon White’s run-scoring single and a two-base error by left fielder Gary Thurman helped them score three runs.

Oakland 4, Cleveland 3--Terry Steinbach lined a two-run double into the right-field corner with nobody out in the 11th inning at Oakland to give the Athletics their sixth victory in a row.

The Indians, who tied the game on Beau Allred’s home run off Dennis Eckersley in the ninth inning, went ahead, 3-2, in the top of the 11th.

Albert Belle led off with a triple into the alley in left center off Eckersley and Carlos Baerga singled him home.

Harold Baines singled in the bottom of the 11th and Willie Wilson ran for him. Mark McGwire walked and Steinbach doubled.