It only took Roger Clemens 11 starts with the Toronto Blue Jays to do what he did in 34 starts with the Boston Red Sox last year.
Clemens remained unbeaten, and became the first 10-game winner in the majors, as the Blue Jays backed him with their biggest offensive output of the season Saturday in a 13-3 romp over the Oakland Athletics.Clemens leads the AL with a 1.85 ERA after allowing two runs in eight innings. The Blue Jays ended a four-game losing streak.
At 10-0, Clemens has matched his 1996 win total, when he went 10-13 for Boston. The three-time Cy Young winner is off to his best start since 1986, when began 14-0 for the Red Sox.
"I've had individual success many times," said Clemens. "It shows that all the hard work is paying off. I was fortunate the hitters put a big number up, that makes a difference."
The Blue Jays scored eight runs in the fourth inning, taking an 8-1 lead, and Clemens was in control after that.
"Roger is throwing the ball better against us this year than last year," A's manager Art Howe said."His velocity has increased and he's showing a little extra hop on his fastball."
Clemens gave up eight hits, struck out four and walked three. It was just the third time he has permitted more than one run this season.
"I was just wild enough," Clemens said. "I wanted to make sure I put a lot behind the pitches, especially early. We were on a four-game skid and I really had no margin for error."
The Blue Jays set season highs for runs and hits . Joe Carter hit a three-run homer and Ed Sprague had a solo shot in the eight-run fourth inning.
"We put the ball in play, and found some holes," said Carter. "That definitely helps the guy's confidence. Let's see where we go from here."
Tilson Brito had a career-high four hits and Carlos Delgado, Charlie O'Brien and Alex Gonzalez each had three hits for Toronto.
Orioles 8, Indians 5
At Baltimore, Cal Ripken broke a seventh-inning tie with a record-breaking home run as the Baltimore Orioles rallied from a four-run deficit to beat Cleveland for their fifth straight win.
In the ninth, Ripken made a pair of errors that helped the Indians load the bases. But Randy Myers struck out Matt Williams on a 3-2 pitch to end the game for his 17th save.
Yankees 7, Red Sox 2
At Boston, Andy Pettitte avoided the first three-game losing streak of his career, and Paul O'Neill hit a pair of solo home runs to lead the New York Yankees over the Boston Red Sox.
Tim Raines drove in two runs and Scott Pose, in his first start for the Yankees, added a two-run double off the first-base bag. New York won for just the fourth time in its last 14 games at Fenway Park.
Brewers 4, White Sox 3
At Milwaukee, Antone Williamson made the most of his first major league at-bat. The 23-year-old Williamson, pinch hitting in the seventh inning, doubled home David Nilsson with the go-ahead run to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a win over the Chicago White Sox.
Jeromy Burnitz hit a pair of solo homers for the Brewers.
Rangers 3, Royals 1
At Arlington, Texas, Ivan Rodriguez and Rusty Greer hit back-to-back home runs in the third inning and rookie Julio Santana effectively pitched into the seventh inning as the Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals.
Santana (3-2), who lost his previous two starts, gave up one run and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings. The right-hander defeated Kevin Appier (4-4), who failed in his fifth attempt to notch his 100th career victory.
Tigers 4, Mariners 2
At Seattle, Bob Hamelin doubled to highlight a three-run first inning, and Omar Olivares made the early lead stand up, pitching the Detroit Tigers past the Seattle Mariners.
The Mariners lost for the 12th time in 16 games and fell to 27-27.
Angels 5, Twins 3
At Anaheim, Calif., Dave Hollins homered twice and drove in four runs for Anaheim in its win over Minnesota.
Hollins hit a solo homer in the first and added a three-run shot in the third to help the Angels open a 4-1 lead. Hollins, a switch-hitter, connected both times off left-hander Scott Aldred (2-8).
National League
Rockies 8, Marlins 4
At Miami, Andres Galarraga hit a 529-foot grand slam, then was ejected four innings later for charging the mound after being hit by a pitch in the Colorado Rockies' victory over the Florida Marlins.
Galarraga's slam against Kevin Brown (5-3) was the longest home run ever at Pro Player Stadium, the longest in Rockies history and the longest this season in the major leagues.
Mickey Mantle is generally credited with hitting the longest home run ever, a 565-foot drive in 1953 off Washington's Chuck Stobbs at Griffith Stadium. A Yankees official used a tape measure to determine the distance, leading to the term "tape-measure" home run.
In 1926, Babe Ruth hit a homer at Detroit that traveled an estimated 600 feet.
Cardinals 6, Dodgers 3
At St. Louis, John Mabry went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and the St. Louis Cardinals took advantage of some shaky Los Angeles Dodgers fielding.
Todd Stottlemyre (4-3) struck out 10 in 8 1-3 innings and Dennis Eckersley closed for his 11th save.
Cubs 7, Reds 4
At Chicago, Shawon Dunston doubled twice, singled and drove in two runs as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Cincinnati Reds.
Kevin Foster (7-3) matched his 1996 victory total by winning his fourth straight start. Mel Rojas got his fifth save.
Expos 4, Pirates 2
At Pittsburgh, Rondell White and Darrin Fletcher homered in succession in the first inning, then singled to start a two-run fourth to lead the Montreal Expos past the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Dustin Hermanson (2-3) won for the first time since beating Chicago in first major league start April 22 despite Jason Kendall's homer, triple and double.
Mets 10, Phillies 3
At New York, Carlos Baerga went 4-for-5 and drove in four runs as the New York Mets moved seven games over .500 for the first time since 1991 with a win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
After completing April at 12-14, the Mets went 18-9 in May and reached the 30-win mark faster than the World Series champion New York Yankees.
Baerga, who has 14 RBIs in 13 games, has raised his average from .161 on April 28 to .296. He has gone 37-for-97 (.381) in that span.
Padres 12, Astros 5
At Houston, Wally Joyner and John Flaherty each drove in three runs, sending the San Diego Padres past the Houston Astros.
The Padres, despite Tony Gwynn sitting out with a hamstring injury, scored four times in the first inning. They chased Shane Reynolds (4-5) in the second with four more runs for an 8-1 lead.
Giants 6, Braves 4
At Atlanta, San Francisco overcame seven walks in one-plus innings by starter William VanLandingham and came through with another comeback victory.
The Giants' bullpen allowed only one run and seven hits after VanLandingham's disastrous outing, and San Francisco broke a 4-4 tie in the seventh on Jeff Kent's run-scoring infield single.
The start was delayed one hour, eight minutes by rain, and there was another stoppage of 1:10 in the seventh. The final pitch was at 12:44 a.m. EDT, more than 51/2 hours after the scheduled beginning.
San Francisco has come from behind in 17 of its 31 victories, a trend that continued when they rallied from a 4-1 deficit.