HOUSTON, 7 June 2005 — Roger Clemens pitched five shaky innings but still picked up his 332nd career win as the Astros scored five first inning runs to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 in National League in Houston on Sunday.
Clemens (4-3) allowed four runs on nine hits, striking out four and walking one, in his worst outing of the season.
However, he still secured his first win since May 14 despite watching his ERA rise to 1.67 from 1.30. Clemens had not been getting much run support until Sunday, but this time the Astros supported him as Morgan Ensberg and Jason Lane both homered during the five-run first.
Russ Springer and Dan Wheeler combined to shutout the Cards from the sixth through eighth innings before Brad Lidge pitched the ninth for his 13th save. Willy Taveras had a career-high four hits for Houston, while Lane wound up with two hits and two RBI as the Astros ended a five-game losing streak to the Cardinals.
In other games, Ryan Church hit a three-run homer as the Nationals beat the Florida Marlins 6-3 in Washington. Luis Ayala (5-3) pitched one inning, allowing one run on three hits for the win.
In Philadelphia, Randy Wolf pitched seven strong innings as the Phillies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-6. Wolf (6-4) allowed two runs on five hits, walking two and striking out two.
In Pittsburgh, Oliver Perez pitched seven strong innings as the Pirates beat the Atlanta Braves 5-2. Perez (4-4) allowed two runs on four hits, walking three and striking out seven. Jose Mesa pitched one inning for his 16th save. Matt Lawton and Rob Mackowiak homered for the Pirates.
In Los Angeles, Jeff Kent had four hits and drove in four runs as the Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 10-6. Jayson Werth added four hits and two RBI for L.A. Winner Brad Penny (3-2) allowed five runs on 11 hits over 5 1/3 innings.
In Denver, Todd Greene homered and drove in three runs as the Colorado Rockies beat the Cincinnati Reds 8-6. Blaine Neal (1-2) pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowing one run on two hits, walking one and striking out one for the win.
In New York, Brett Tomko pitched 7 2/3 innings as the San Francisco Giants beat the Mets 6-3 in the opener of a double-header. Tomko (5-7) allowed one run on six hits, walking two and striking out five.
In San Diego, Carlos Zambrano pitched seven strong innings as the Chicago Cubs beat the Padres 4-0.
