Woeful Tigers spoil Rocket's shot at 300, Clemens, Yankee defense explodes to low six-run lead

DETROIT - A record crowd of 44,095 squeezed into Comerica Park ona sunny Sunday afternoon, filling every seat and jamming the standing-room-only concourses above the outfield bleachers, all in hopes ofwitnessing Roger Clemens make history with his 300th victory. Seventeen innings later, after the New York Yankees outlasted theDetroit Tigers, 10-9, in a grueling 5-hour 10-minute marathon thatfeatured 14 pitchers, a seventh-inning stretch and a 14th-inningstretch, Clemens' outing seemed like ancient history.

Staked to a 7-1, fifth-inning lead against baseball's most feeblecollection of hitters, Clemens and the Yankee defense imploded in afive-run, three-error fifth, and the bullpen collapsed in a two-runseventh, leaving Clemens with a no-decision in his second attempt tobecome the 21st player in major league history, and first since NolanRyan in 1990, to reach 300 wins.

Next Rocket stop: Chicago's Wrigley Field, where Clemens willoppose his protege, Cub flame-thrower Kerry Wood, Saturday in anationally televised interleague game that will pit the only twopitchers who have struck out 20 batters in a nine-inning game.

"The pressure is going to build - it's tough to say it's justanother ballgame when you have so much more media here," YankeeManager Joe Torre said. "It's just one thing you have to get throughand get it over with, so we can move on and try to concentrate onwinning a division." That pressure doesn't seem to bother Clemens,who had between 40 and 50 relatives and friends at Sunday's game andexpects another big entourage in Wrigley. Asked if the pursuit of 300victories is beginning to wear on him, the six-time Cy Young Awardwinner said not at all.

"I don't get a chance to see my family together on the road much,so this is good," said Clemens, who gave up six runs and seven hitsin six innings.

"They're seeing some different parks, having a good time. I'm notworried about (the pressure). That has nothing to do with how Iapproach it or how excited I get about it."

The same couldn't be said about his teammates. Left fielder JuanRivera, shortstop Derek Jeter and second baseman Alfonso Soriano eachmade errors during an ugly fifth inning, when Detroit trimmed a 7-1lead to 7-6, and Soriano made another error in the third.

After Todd Zeile's home run gave the Yankees an 8-6 lead in thesixth, Yankee left-hander Sterling Hitchcock gave up singles to RamonSantiago and Dmitri Young in the seventh, and right-hander AntonioOsuna, a former Dodger, gave up an RBI single to Carlos Pena, walkeda batter and gave up a score-tying sacrifice fly to Shane Halter.

"Sure, there's disappointment, no question," Torre said. "That'sprobably what added to our problems in the fifth. You start trying todo it for Roger, and everyone gets a little anxious you start to jabat the ball instead of letting the game come to you. That's the onlyway I can describe it.

"Hitchcock comes in, and he never throws a ball above the waist.Today, he didn't throw a ball under the waist. Everyone's trying toohard to get it done. It was very, very surprising not to hold a 7-1lead."

Soriano and catcher Jorge Posada each hit a home run offfknuckleballer Steve Sparks in the top of the 17th, and starter DavidWells pitched 5 2/3 innings of three-hit, one-run relief to push theYankees past the Tigers, but the victory was bittersweet.

"We were hoping this was Roger's day," Wells said. "He had a 7-1lead, you figure the rest of the day is icing on the cake, and thensome weird things start happening. It's a sad day, but it's also agood day because we won."

Added Jeter: "It's a letdown. Obviously, you want to win for him,and I feel bad that we blew a 7-1 lead Maybe we were pressing alittle bit. He's going to get it eventually. You try to put that inthe back of your mind, but you can't help thinking about it."

Clemens entered with a 24-10 record against Detroit and areputation for toying with players of lesser caliber, but it was the.196-hitting Halter who hit a two-out, RBI single in the second, and.156-hitting Brandon Inge who singled to spark the fifth-inningrally, which included a two-run home run by No. 9 batter GeneKingsale, who had all of two major league home runs entering thegame.

After giving up five runs and five hits in the fifth, Clemensstruck out Halter with his 31st pitch of the inning, and with runnerson second and third, to end the rally.

"I felt like I threw 2 1/2 innings in the fifth," Clemens said.

AP-NY-06-01-03 2244EDT