Roger Clemens didn’t talk after Saturday’s game and didn’t have anything to say Sunday either.
“The way my body feels, I’m going to pass,” Clemens said to the horde of reporters surrounding his locker on his arrival Sunday at Wrigley Field. “I’ll talk another day.”
Clemens, who is battling a cold in his head and chest, failed to become the 21st member of the 300-victory club after Eric Karros hit a three-run seventh-inning homer on the first pitch from Yankees reliever Juan Acevedo in an eventual Cubs 5-2 victory Saturday.
It was Clemens’ third attempt at the milestone. He lost to visiting Boston on Memorial Day, then watched a 7-1 lead evaporate in Detroit in his next start.
Against the Cubs, Clemens, who took the loss and fell to 6-4 on the season, yielded just three hits and struck out five in 6 2/3 innings. He was pulled after just 84 pitches following a one-out single to Sammy Sosa and a five-pitch walk to Moises Alou.
“The pitch count wasn’t a factor,” Yankees pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre said. “With a one-run lead you have to make every pitch count, and there’s no room for any mistakes.
“I can’t even fault him for walking Alou in that situation because he was trying to make a good, quality pitch.”
Kerry Wood (5-4) was the beneficiary, claming his 50th career victory in 7 2/3 innings of work. Wood also allowed just three hits, but struck out 11 Yankees.
“Beside the fact of Roger going for 300, it was a classic matchup,” Stottlemyre said. “Anyone who didn’t feel they got the price of admission, I think something is wrong with them.
“But we knew when we talked to Roger in the sixth inning that he had only one more inning in him.”
Manager Joe Torre claimed it was an easy decision to take Clemens out for reliever Juan Acevedo.
“He wasn’t feeling too good,” Torre said, “and he was a little frustrated with the umpire, but he’s the last to make excuses.
“Just watching him struggle through those last two hitters [Sosa and Alou] and knowing he wasn’t feeling well, it was an easy decision.
“As for the pitch count, [that] was a perfect example of using more energy with a low pitch count compared to a higher pitch count with a 7-0 lead. Every single pitch meant more [Saturday].”
Barring rainouts, Clemens’ next trip to the mound for a shot at No. 300 is scheduled for Friday night at Yankee Stadium against the St. Louis Cardinals.
“My gut feeling is he won’t miss his next start,” Stottlemyre said.
