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 HOUSTON (AP) - Roger Clemens showed those old flashes of brilliance on the mound and some pretty good work at the plate, too. Putting off retirement for one more year, the Rocket allowed one run in seven innings and hit a tiebreaking, two-run single to lead the Houston Astros over the Cincinnati Reds 3-2 Friday night, tying Steve Carlton for ninth place with his 329th win.
Coming off his record seventh Cy Young Award, Clemens (1-0) walked none and struck out nine, raising his career total to 4,326. The 42-year-old right-hander, who had planned to retire after the 2003 season and again last winter, retired his first 11 batters until Sean Casey's two-out liner to shallow center in the fourth. Clemens then fanned Austin Kearns.
Clemens gave up five hits, including a fifth-inning homer by Joe Randa in the fifth that hit off the wall in left-center and went into the outfield concourse.
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