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Clemens, Yankees crush Blue Jays

Aug 8, 2007 - 4:15 AM TORONTO (Ticker) -- Roger Clemens helped keep the New York Yankees rolling.

Clemens pitched six stellar innings before getting ejected and Bobby Abreu had four RBI to lift the Yankees to their fifth consecutive win, a 9-2 triumph over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.

Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter each drove in two runs for New York, which remained one-half game behind the Detroit Tigers in the American League wild card.

The 45-year-old Clemens (4-5) yielded just two hits and a walk with five strikeouts before being ejected after hitting Alex Rios with a pitch to lead off the seventh frame.

Clemens, who surrendered 12 runs - seven earned - and 17 hits over eight innings in his previous two starts, retired 13 straight Blue Jay hitters after Frank Thomas led off the second inning with a single.

"I'm working on my mechanics after watching a little video," Clemens said. "There's things in my delivery I can clean up."

Abreu put the Yankees on the scoreboard in the third inning with an RBI triple off Blue Jays starter Josh Towers (5-9) and later scored on Posada's two-run double, which opened a 3-0 lead.

"He (Clemens) had a little bit more today," Posada said. "You could see it in the bullpen, he was going to have a good game today."

Abreu, who now has driven in 15 runs over his last eight games, added an RBI groundout in the fifth and a two-run single in the eighth. The 12-year veteran is batting .286 with 11 home runs and 74 RBI this season.

New York took a 4-0 lead in the fourth when Johnny Damon's sacrifice fly plated Melky Cabrera, who had two doubles, a triple and scored three times.

The Yankees broke open the game in the fifth frame after Jeter drove in two runs with a base hit to right field and Abreu's RBI groundout scored Damon to take a 7-0 advantage.

Both benches were cleared after Towers beaned Alex Rodriguez in the third inning. Nobody was removed from the game but warnings were issued, which led to Clemens' ejection four innings later.

"We have to protect Alex he's the best player in the game, we definitely need Alex down the stretch," Damon said.

"We'll see how I wake up in the morning, I'm a little sore today it just hit me in the calf," Rodriguez said.

Yankees manager Joe Torre also expressed frustration regarding his star third baseman getting hit in the leg with a fastball.

"He got thrown behind yesterday and then he got hit and that set him off," Torre said.

After Clemens was thrown out of the contest, Rios came around to score on Thomas' two-run double, which cut the deficit to 7-2.

The 30-year-old Towers, who claimed he did not hit Rodriguez on purpose, lasted just five innings, allowing five runs and nine hits with four walks to register his third consecutive loss.

"Of course I was trying to pitch inside, he's a power hitter, it was a key situation it just got away a little bit," Towers said.