Sept. 15, 2005, 7:43AM
Clemens comes through on same day of his mother's death
By JOSE DE JESUS ORTIZ
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
BOXSCORE
On her deathbed late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, Roger Clemens' mother adamantly urged him back to work. She wanted him back on a pitcher's mound, which long has been her son's sanctuary and the site of many of their most cherished memories.
To the end, her mind was on baseball, and she would have been proud of him on Wednesday night.
Less than 15 hours after Bess Clemens-Booher died in Georgetown, her son took the Minute Maid Park mound and beat the Florida Marlins 10-2, pushing the Astros within a half-game of the National League wild-card lead.
Clemens smiled as he recalled his mother spending some of her last moments asking about Andy Pettitte's surgically repaired left elbow, wondering if the Astros were already in the playoffs and even dropping mentions of Shoeless Joe Jackson.
"I feel very blessed she's at peace now," he said of the woman who essentially raised him as a single mother. "The last 10 years were hard on her. The last two or three days were grueling. She was very tough to the end. She didn't
After overcoming a first inning in which he was admittedly adrift mentally, Clemens settled down and held the Marlins to five hits and one run with two walks and four strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings.
"You hear about Roger Clemens being a warrior," Marlins righthander A.J. Burnett said after dropping to 12-11. "That's what he is."
After the final out was recorded to drop Florida into a tie with the Phillies atop the NL wild-card standings, the Astros played a video tribute to Clemens' mother.
"Son, I'm really proud of you and all your accomplishments," Bess said on one of the clips. "I love you. You already know that. I love you."
The gesture touched Clemens, his family and many in the crowd of 30,911.
"I didn't hear the video, but I've seen it and I've heard it before," he said. "It was just great to see her look so pretty like I remember."
Bess Clemens-Booher was 75 when she died Wednesday morning at 4:30 due to complications from emphysema. She had fought emphysema for several years, making Clemens hesitant about playing a 22nd season this year.
With his blessing from his wife, Debbie, and mother, Roger Clemens put off retirement last season to join his hometown Astros and won his seventh Cy Young Award.
Source of advice
Before re-signing with the Astros this January, Clemens asked his mother her opinion. Her only reservation was that she wanted him to finish on top, and he delivered with his Cy Young.
Winning the World Series has been the main goal, and earning the NL wild card is the Astros' first task if they want to make the franchise's first World Series appearance this year.
To that end, Clemens snapped the Astros' four-game losing streak and put the club in position to earn a four-game split with Florida tonight with Pettitte on the mound.
"Since I've known Roger, I've been pretty close to her," said Pettitte, who is Clemens' best friend in the Astros' organization. "I love her to death. She's a wonderful lady."
Clemens threw his first pitch at 7:05 p.m. and walked leadoff hitter Luis Castillo on four consecutive 91-mph fastballs. Jeff Conine followed with a single to center, where Chris Burke pounded his left shoulder on the grass while diving for the sinking liner that fell a few inches in front of him. Miguel Cabrera gave the Marlins a 1-0 lead with an RBI groundout to third.
"I was lost as soon as I climbed on the mound," he said. "I was lost a little bit. I knew I had to gather up really quick so I could get through that."
The Astros countered with three runs in the second. Lance Berkman led off with a single to center. Jason Lane followed with a walk.
One out later, Adam Everett loaded the bases with a single through the left side. Brad Ausmus tied the score at 1 with a five-pitch walk. Clemens (12-7) drove in another run with a walk off Burnett. Craig Biggio made it 3-1 with a single to left.
"I appreciate what my teammates said to me tonight," Clemens said after collecting his 340th major-league victory. "I told them there was no way I was going to run out on them (after) what they've done for me over the last few years."
Call for relief
Clemens was pulled after giving up consecutive one-out singles to right to Damion Easley and Juan Pierre in the seventh. As Chad Qualls was brought in to atone against Paul Lo Duca, Clemens drew a standing ovation from the crowd.
A day after giving up Lo Duca's game-winning two-run homer, Qualls got a double-play grounder to end the inning.
"I think the word that was used is that he understands the meaning of the word 'duty,' " Astros general manager Tim Purpura said of Clemens. "His mother taught him about duty. He feels like he has a duty to pitch for the Astros, and that's what he's going to do."
Clemens learned much from his mother, including his love for baseball.
"That woman had baseball in her heart," said Debbie Clemens, fighting back tears as her sons shared a tearful embrace with their father. "She was very much in a good mood and very loving and sweet throughout the whole time. She would have been proud of Roger tonight."
jesus.ortiz@chron.com
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