Clemens Gets a Lead and Doesn't Let Go

Yankees 9, Royals 2

KANSAS CITY, July 23 — It is hard to think of any series with the Kansas City Royals as a test. But facts are facts, and when they faced the Yankees at Kauffman Stadium on Monday, the Royals were coming off series victories on the road against Boston and Detroit, the teams with the two best records in the majors.

“We watch the scoreboard, and they've been playing good teams very tough,” Yankees Manager Joe Torre said.
That might be true, but there was not much evidence in this game. The Yankees thumped the Royals, 9-2, behind seven strong innings from Roger Clemens, who earned his 351st career victory. That is 100 more than the combined career total of all of the Royals' pitchers.

thump v. 重擊

The Yankees have won 9 of their past 11 games and have scored 47 runs in their past three. They gave Clemens a 4-0 lead in the second inning and he protected it, allowing four hits, striking out three, and watching the Yankees hitters pile on with five runs in the ninth.

pile v. 累積

For the third game in a row, every Yankees starter had at least one hit.

“It's what you would expect from the lineup,” Clemens said. “The guys are getting it done. The intensity is up when you'd like it to be. It's great to see our hitters walking around with smiles on their faces.”

The Yankees' ninth-inning burst began when Alex Rodriguez singled home Johnny Damon, who had three hits. Rodriguez became the first Yankee to drive in 100 runs before the team's 100th game since Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig did it in 1937.

burst v. 突然爆發

The last major leaguer to do it was Manny Ramírez for Cleveland in 1999. Ramírez finished with 165 runs batted in that season.

“It's pretty cool, but I'm focused on the team,” Rodriguez said. “I'm really excited about the way the team's playing.”

The Yankees were playing their first game this season against the Royals, who have held their own since a miserable start. The Royals had endured 22 consecutive losing months until going 15-12 in June, and they also have a winning record in July.

One Yankees coach has paid special attention to the Royals. Tony Peña Jr., the son of the Yankees' first base coach, Tony Peña, is Kansas City's starting shortstop. That presented a problem in the pregame scouting meeting.

“I'll be in the meeting, but when they start to talk about him, I will move out,” Pena said. “I want him to do well and lose the game. I don't want him to beat us.”

Things went to plan for Peña when his son singled against Clemens with two out in the third inning for the Royals' first hit. Clemens had set down eight in a row to start the game.

The Yankees greeted Odalis Pérez with two runs in the first inning, both scoring on a two-out single by Hideki Matsui. In the second, Robinson Canó led off with a single. It was the first of two hits for Canó, who is 20 for 40 over his past 10 games.

After Andy Phillips popped out, Shelley Duncan came to bat. His father, Dave, the pitching coach for the St. Louis Cardinals, was in town on a day off to watch his son. Shelley's brother, Chris, a Cardinals outfielder, also came along.

“He asked permission if his brother could come down to the clubhouse after the game,” Torre said. “Permission granted.”

Duncan, who had three home runs in his first three games, singled to left field to keep the rally going. Damon followed with a hard-hit double just inside the left-field line, scoring two runs to make the score 4-0.

“Things move a lot smoother when I'm doing something,” said Damon, who started in center and said he might ask Torre for more starts in the field. “I'm always hard on myself. I always feel like, as I go, the team's going to go.”

Only twice in Clemens's previous eight starts had the Yankees scored four runs while he was still in the game. He took advantage of the lead against a Royals lineup that included only one hitter who had faced him more than three times.

The Royals put two runners on in only inning against Clemens, who struck out his last two hitters and issued no walks.