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BOSTON – Roger Clemens’ emotional return to Fenway Park dressed in a Yankee uniform resulted in the expected booing by Red Sox fans yesterday. However, Clemens’ success against his old club didn’t continue.
Struggling from the start, the Rocket didn’t make it out of the sixth inning of a 6-5 Yankee loss in front of a sold-out crowd of 33,179.
The Red Sox completed their comeback from a 5-2 deficit in the ninth when Jose Offerman rifled Ramiro Mendoza’s first pitch for a triple to the triangle in center. He scored on John Valentin’s fly ball to the left-field corner that Shane Spencer gambled would drop foul but didn’t.
Mendoza, who entered the game in the eighth inning, absorbed the loss and is 4-7.
In losing their third in four games, the Yankees had their lead over the Red Sox shaved 6 games.
Clemens, a Red Sox for 13 years who left for Toronto via free agency following the 1996 season, was booed when he walked in from the bullpen prior to the game. When he climbed the mound for the home first, the boos reached a deafening level. And when he exited in the sixth leading 5-3 he did so to a smattering of applause from Yankee fans but was heavily booed for a final time.
In five-plus innings, Clemens allowed four runs and five hits. He walked three and fanned two. In six starts against the Red Sox, Clemens is 3-0 but his ERA swelled from 1.64 to 1.87. Against the Red Sox at Fenway, Clemens is 1-0 with an ERA of 2.25.
Chuck Knoblauch opened the second straight game with a homer over the Green Monster. It was Knoblauch’s eighth homer. Paul O’Neill also homered in the first, his 12th.
Knoblauch’s leadoff single in the ninth gave the Yankees a threat against Derek Lowe but Derek Jeter bounced into a 6-4-3 double play.
Clemens saw his chances for a fourth win against the Red Sox vanish in the seventh when Jason Grimsley gave up a double to Valentin that scored Offerman from first to tie the score, 5-5.
Grimsley rebounded to get Brian Daubach on a fly to right for the second out but when Nomar Garciaparra singled sharply to left to put runners at the corners for lefty-swinging Troy O’Leary, Joe Torre summoned lefty Mike Stanton to the mound.
Stanton needed two pitches to retire O’Leary on a harmless fly to center.
The Red Sox chased Clemens in the sixth when Nomar Garciaparra opened with a single. Grimsley replaced Clemens and gave up a ground single to center to Troy O’Leary. Butch Huskey followed with a ground ball that slid under Scott Brosius’ glove to load the bases with no outs for Jason Varitek.
Varitek was robbed of a two-run single by Derek Jeter, who made a diving stop and flipped the ball to Knoblauch to force Huskey at second as Garciaparra scored. Grimsley ended the threat by getting Darren Lewis to hit into a 6-3 double play.
Down 5-2, in the fifth, the Red Sox had Clemens on the ropes when he walked Trot Nixon, wild pitched him to second and watched the No. 9 hitter score on Jose Offerman’s single to center. But Valentin hit the first pitch into a 6-4-3 double play and Clemens fanned Daubach.
The Red Sox tied the score, 2-2, in the third inning when Nixon crushed a 430-foot homer to center leading off the frame in front of Clemens issuing his second walk to Offerman.
Offerman stole second and went to third when Clemens’ uncorked a fastball over John Valentin’s head. Valentin plated Offerman with a fly ball to left.
Brian Rose had been a mystery to the Yankees in two starts this season, posting a 2-0 record and an 0.69 ERA. However, Rose presented no problems to the Yankees in the early going and didn’t make it out of the fourth inning.
For the second consecutive game, Knoblauch hit an 0-1 pitch over the Green Monster leading off the game. It was the fifth time this year Knoblauch started the first inning with a homer and the 22nd time in his career. After Rose fanned Jeter, Paul O’Neill crushed his 12th homer to right off Rose’s first pitch for a 2-0 lead.
After leaving two runners on in the third when Knoblauch led off with a single off the wall but was thrown out at second, Jorge Posada started the fourth with a single and Brosius doubled to left-center.
Shane Spencer’s bloop single to right scored Posada and sent Brosius to third. Chad Curtis, playing center so Bernie Williams could rest his ailing left shoulder, singled home Brosius.
With the Yankees hitting bullets off Rose, Knoblauch attempted to bunt his way on and popped up for the first out. Rose escaped further trouble when he got Jeter to hit into an inning-ending 5-3 double play.
