Not even his teammates knew if Roger Clemens was hurting during the final weeks of the season. That’s one part of this story that may not be told.
Scouts following the Astros thought they knew. They didn’t see the same bite on his split-finger pitch or the same command of his fastball.
They had numbers to back up their opinion that something was wrong.
Clemens had a 5.40 ERA in September. In the previous five months, his highest ERA had been 1.54.
He missed one start to rest a sore hamstring. Otherwise, he wouldn’t admit to much being wrong.
He struggled in some starts, but he has always believed he should succeed with whatever he took to the mound on a given night.
And he did at times. He had a solid start against the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. He told reporters his leg felt fine.
His right leg finally failed him Saturday night in Game 1 of the World Series. He limped off the mound after two tough innings, allowing three earned runs in just two innings.
The Astros lost to the White Sox 5-3. They envisioned this thing playing out a different way. They wanted Clemens on the mound for their first World Series game.
He has always had a presence others don’t have. He has instilled confidence in teammates too.
When he entered that 18-inning playoff game against the Braves, the Astros suddenly believed they would win. Clemens pitched three shutout innings on two days’ rest.
If he was injured, how could have had done something so remarkable?
“He lives for moments like that,” manager Phil Garner said.
Saturday night was supposed to be one of those moments. Instead, it was a fight for survival from the beginning.
Jermaine Dye hit his 18th pitch out of the park. He needed 25 pitches to get out of the first inning and 29 to get out of the second. Clemens had to throw 12 pitches to strike out Scott Podsednik.
That’s how his night ended. His eighth World Series start was one of his least satisfying.
The Astros almost won anyway thanks to three relievers combining to allow one run over the next five innings.
They didn’t because they were ridiculously bad with runners in scoring position. In the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, their leadoff hitter reached scoring position.
This was exactly the kind of game they’ve won this season. And they would have with one hit at the right time.
