| NEW YORK -- New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens will likely be placed on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday with a strained right groin.
Clemens left after the first inning Wednesday in his start against the Boston Red Sox.
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| Clemens |
"I still felt I had good enough stuff to get the job done,"
Clemens said. "But they were afraid I'd really hurt. It's not
torn, but it's frayed. I need my legs to get a good push off the
mound."
Clemens, who lost a 2-0 duel with Martinez on May 28, allowed
one hit and two walks in a scoreless, 28-pitch first inning before
being replaced by Ramiro Mendoza to start the second.
Mendoza allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings and the Yankees went on
to win 2-1 on Tino Martinez's solo homer in the eighth inning off
Tim Wakefield.
"All in all it could have been worse if we had lost the game,"
said Clemens, clearly frustrated by missing the opportunity to
pitch against his former team. "But Mendoza and the 'pen did a
great job and Tino came through with the big hit."
Clemens was late getting out to the mound to start the game as
he was rewrapping his groin, which he originally aggravated June
3 against Atlanta.
"It's not a big problem. I had one four or five years ago," he
said. 'I thought I was over it, but it got worse today."
Clemens struggled in the first inning, but worked out of a
one-out, bases loaded jam by getting Carl Everett and Brian Daubach
to popout.
"He was looking awful," Martinez said. "I figured something
must be wrong. That wasn't the same guy that pitched before. I
wasn't surprised."
Catcher Jorge Posada came into the dugout and told pitching
coach Mel Stottlemyre and manager Joe Torre that Clemens was
hurting, and they decided to take him out.
Clemens' injury could complicate trade plans by the Yankees, who
have expressed interest in the Cubs' Sammy Sosa and Detroit's Juan
Gonzalez. The questions around Clemens might limit what pitchers
the Yankees can move in a trade.
"You have to talk to the people upstairs about that," manager
Joe Torre said. "I try to manage the club and don't get into all
that other stuff."
Clemens, who missed two weeks last season with a left hamstring
injury, has struggled this season, going 4-6 with a 4.76 ERA and
has not won since May 17. | |
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Roger Clemens did the best he could to get out of the first inning.
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