When Tim Wakefield went the route in an 8-2 loss in Chicago Monday, he threw 162 pitches. That was a Herculean effort, to be sure, but Wakefield throws knuckleballs.
Roger Clemens, of course, is an entirely different pitcher. For his pitch count to reach that stratosphere requires a lot more strain.
But there was Clemens last night, leaving the mound after the top of the eighth, lugging 156 pitches and a 4-3 deficit with him.
Texas snapped a 3-3 tie when Kurt Stillwell dumped a two-out single into left field to score Lou Frazier. The Sox would tie it in the bottom of the inning and go on to win, 8-7, in 10, after Clemens again pitched well enough - and long enough - to win and didn't.
``We got ourselves out of trouble and came back to win against a pretty good team like Texas,'' Clemens said. ``I hope that we can get to the crest of the hill and start heading downward with a little momentum.''
Clemens clearly did all he could to push the Sox to the top of that hill. His pitch count has now increased for three straight starts, but Clemens isn't concerned.
``I'm not worried about the pitch count,'' he said. ``I know I've thrown more, probably, a few times. It's not a big concern of mine. You do whatever you have to do. Kevin [Kennedy] has afforded me every opportunity to try and win.''
Kennedy came out to the mound before Stillwell's at-bat but said he had no intention of lifting Clemens and was only trying to give him a breather.
As usual, Clemens piled on the strikeouts, fanning nine Rangers. He has recorded more strikeouts than innings pitched in nine of his 15 outings this year, and leads the American League with 114 whiffs.
Clemens worked from the stretch much of the night, allowing at least one hit every inning after the first. Still, he stranded eight runners, but until the Sox' late-inning explosion, it seemed he would again be a victim of poor run support.
In the three starts before last night's, the Red Sox had scored only five runs for Clemens, and they had won only three of his 14 starts for the year. But support, he said, has never been a complaint of his.
``I can win with three or four runs; I've always felt that way,'' Clemens said. ``The only thing that discourages me is when you feel you're getting outhustled by the other team.''
That didn't happen last night, and though Clemens didn't get a win - his record still stands at 3-6 - the Sox did.
``I think that's the best thing about [tonight],'' he said. ``The fashion and the way we won.''
This story ran on page 93 of the Boston Globe on 06/14/96.