AL scores six runs off Astros pitcher in first inning
By Kevin Kelly Enquirer staff writer
HOUSTON - Nolan Ryan sat on the aisle, four rows behind home plate. Roger Clemens stood on the mound Tuesday evening at Minute Maid Park. The Texas pitching legends were at home, but in contrasting capacities.
MVPS 2004 - Alfonso Soriano, Texas, AL 2003 - Garret Anderson, Anaheim, AL
2002 - None
2001 - Cal Ripken Jr., Baltimore, AL
2000 - Derek Jeter, New York, AL
1999 - Pedro Martinez, Boston, AL
1998 - Roberto Alomar, Baltimore, AL
1997 - Sandy Alomar Jr., Cleveland, AL
1996 - Mike Piazza, Los Angeles, NL
1995 - Jeff Conine, Florida, NL
1994 - Fred McGriff, Atlanta, NL
1993 - Kirby Puckett, Minnesota, AL
1992 - Ken Griffey Jr., Seattle, AL
1991 - Cal Ripken Jr., Baltimore, AL
1990 - Julio Franco, Texas, AL
1989 - Bo Jackson, Kansas City, AL
1988 - Terry Steinbach, Oakland, AL
1987 - Tim Raines, Montreal, NL
1986 - Roger Clemens, Boston, AL
1985 - LaMarr Hoyt, San Diego, NL
1984 - Gary Carter, Montreal, NL
1983 - Fred Lynn, California, AL
1982 - Dave Concepcion, Cincinnati, NL
1981 - Gary Carter, Montreal, NL
1980 - Ken Griffey Sr., Cincinnati, NL
1979 - Dave Parker, Pittsburgh, NL
1978 - Steve Garvey, Los Angeles, NL
1977 - Don Sutton, Los Angeles, NL
1976 - George Foster, Cincinnati, NL
1975 - Bill Madlock, Chicago, NL, and Jon Matlack, New York, NL
1974 - Steve Garvey, Los Angeles, NL
1973 - Bobby Bonds, San Francisco, NL
1972 - Joe Morgan, Cincinnati, NL
1971 - Frank Robinson, Baltimore, AL
1970 - Carl Yastrzemski, Boston, AL
1969 - Willie McCovey, San Francisco, NL
1968 - Willie Mays, San Francisco, NL
1967 - Tony Perez, Cincinnati, NL
1966 - Brooks Robinson, Baltimore, AL
1965 - Juan Marichal, San Francisco, NL
1964 - John Callison, Philadelphia, NL
1963 - Willie Mays, San Francisco, NL
1962 - x-Maury Wills, Los Angeles, NL
1962 - x-Leon Wagner, Los Angeles, AL
x-two games
ALL TIME BATTING RECORDS
Games - 24, Stan Musial, St. Louis Cardinals; Willie Mays, N.Y.-San Francisco Giants-N.Y. Mets; Hank Aaron, Milwaukee-Atlanta Braves-Milwaukee Brewers.
At-bats - 75, Willie Mays, N.Y.-San Francisco Giants-N.Y. Mets.
Batting average - .500, Charlie Gehringer, Detroit (20 at-bats).
Hits - 23, Willie Mays, N.Y.-San Francisco Giants-N.Y. Mets.
Runs - 20, Willie Mays, N.Y.-San Francisco Giants-N.Y. Mets.
RBI - 12, Ted Williams, Boston Red Sox.
Doubles - 7, Dave Winfield, San Diego-N.Y. Yankees.
Triples - 3, Willie Mays, N.Y.-San Francisco Giants-N.Y. Mets; and Brooks Robinson, Baltimore.
Home runs - 6, Stan Musial, St. Louis Cardinals.
The Associated Press
Tuesday was a night to celebrate the 41-year-old Clemens, the National League's All-Star starting pitcher who ended a 78-day retirement to pitch for the Astros this season.
Only things did not go as planned.
Clemens hit a Texas-sized bump before 41,886 fans, and lasted just one inning.
The American League scored six runs on five hits off the six-time Cy Young Award winner and won the game, 9-4.
Rangers second baseman Alfonso Soriano, who hit a three-run home run off Clemens in the first inning, was named the game's Most Valuable Player.
The victory is the seventh in the past eight All-Star Games for the AL - the 2002 game ended in a tie - and secures home field advantage in the World Series for the league.
Tuesday's 35-pitch performance was, far and away, Clemens' most disappointing in nine career All-Star appearances.
It also was his first All-Star loss.
The American League shuttled nine batters to the plate in the first inning as Clemens surrendered a single, double, triple and two home runs. It was quite a departure from his last All-Star start in Houston.
Eighteen years ago, and pitching for the Red Sox, Clemens wowed more than 45,000 by tossing three scoreless innings at the Astrodome. The outing earned him All-Star MVP honors.
Clemens, who went 10-3 in the first half this season, gave up two home runs.
Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez hit a 0-and-2 pitch into the left field seats to put the AL ahead 3-0. After a strikeout and a fielding error by Astros second baseman Jeff Kent, Clemens allowed a single to Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter before Soriano hit a three-run homer to give the AL a 6-0 lead. The NL scored one run off AL starting pitcher Mark Mulder in the bottom of the first.
Sammy Sosa's broken bat single scored Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols.
Reds shortstop Barry Larkin, appearing in his ninth All-Star Game, pinch-hit in the third and grounded out to third base against Mulder.
The A's left-hander, who is 12-2 with a 3.21 ERA this season, allowed one run on two hits in his two innings.
"It was a good time," Mulder said. "(Teammate Tim Hudson) was getting all over me, telling me I was getting too much run support.
"So I got six runs. That was fine."
The AL added one run in the fourth, and the NL scored three runs off Cleveland pitcher C.C. Sabathia in the bottom of that inning to make it 7-4.
Prior to the start of the fifth inning, and with the AL leading 7-4, the game was stopped as baseball commissioner Bud Selig presented Clemens with the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award.
"Tonight we are celebrating your place among an elite group of pitchers who have accumulated 300 victories and over 4,000 career strikeouts," Selig said.
"These achievements will ensure that your name will always be mentioned with the greatest pitchers in the history of this great game."
Clemens is the eighth recipient of the award and addressed the crowd upon being handed a trophy.
"I put our guys in a hole, but we'll get our crowd into it," he said. "These guys are working their way back into the game. We're going to win the game."
He continued: "I'd be remiss if I didn't say thank you to all the fans, all the great fans in Major League Baseball."
Boston's David Ortiz hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning as the AL took a 9-4 lead.
