Roger Clemens showed one of the reasons tonight why he is a certain first ballot Hall of Famer and one of the three or four best pitchers in baseball history.
Not blessed with his best stuff and unable to throw any of his breaking pitches consistently for strikes, Clemens threw almost 35 pitches, walked four, and walked in a run in the first inning of the Stros’ game tonight against the Cincinnati Reds. However, Clemens then settled down, began spotting his fastball effectively, did not walk another batter, and scattered five hits over six innings. He left the game without giving up another run.
In short, 41 year old Clemens without his best stuff could still shut down the Reds. He is an incredible pitcher.
The Stros cruised behind Clemens to a 6-1 win over the Reds in front of an SRO crowd of over 41,000 at the Juice Box. Wade Miller pitches on Saturday evening in the second game of the series against the Reds.