Clemens will miss start after injury
Roger Clemens will not make his scheduled start today against the Milwaukee Brewers.
He left Monday night’s game at Philadelphia after five innings with a strained right groin.
“He’s just not ready to go,” Astros manager Phil Garner said after hearing from Clemens, who is in Kentucky to watch his son, Koby, play for Houston’s Single-A Lexington Legends in the South Atlantic League division series. “He still feels it.”
Clemens is 6-4 with a 2.27 ERA in 15 starts.
“There’s a good chance he won’t pitch until we get back home,” Garner said. “Rocket knows very well how he feels.”
The Astros began a three-game series at Milwaukee on Friday night and then go to St. Louis for three more games before heading back to Houston for the final homestand of the season.
Right-hander Jason Hirsh (2-3, 6.84 ERA) will take Clemens’ place today.
Closer Guardado has surgery
Cincinnati closer Eddie Guardado will be sidelined well into next season after having surgery to repair a torn ligament and tendon in his left elbow.
Dr. Timothy Kremchek, Cincinnati’s medical director, performed the two-hour surgery.
Guardado, 35, earned $6.5 million this season, the final year on his contract.
The Reds acquired him from Seattle in a trade July 6.
He pitched well at the outset, but his elbow started bothering him soon after he arrived. He was 10 of 12 in save chances when he went on the disabled list Aug. 20.
Around the horn
The Boston Red Sox released catcher Javy Lopez. The Red Sox acquired Lopez on Aug. 4 from the Baltimore Orioles for a player to be named later to fill in for Jason Varitek, who missed August with a knee injury. Lopez hasn’t played since Varitek was reactivated. … Rodrigo Lopez was dropped from Baltimore’s rotation, a move designed to fortify an injury-riddled bullpen and keep five pitchers on the starting staff. … Tampa Bay Devil Rays All-Star pitcher Scott Kazmir doesn’t expect to throw again for a couple of days, but the Devil Rays have not ruled out Kazmir returning this season.
•The Texas Rangers recalled right-handed pitcher Frank Francisco, who pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault for throwing a chair that broke the nose of an Oakland Athletics female fan two years ago. … Mike Mussina was moved back two days in the New York Yankees pitching rotation after developing arm soreness from his previous start. Mussina was scheduled to pitch Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles. He will now face Tampa Bay on Tuesday. Jaret Wright will pitch in his place Sunday. The 35-year-old Mussina is 13-6 with a 3.72 ERA in 28 starts.