Editing Roger Clemens (section)

===Houston Astros (2004–2006)===
[[File:Roger clemens 2004.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|left|Clemens pitching for the Astros in 2004]]
Clemens came out of retirement, signing a one-year deal with his adopted hometown [[Houston Astros]] on January 12, 2004, joining close friend and former Yankees teammate [[Andy Pettitte]]. On May 5, 2004, Clemens recorded his 4,137th career strikeout to place him second on the all-time list behind [[Nolan Ryan]]. He was named the starter for the National League All-Star team but ultimately was the losing pitcher in that game after allowing six runs on five hits, including a three-run home run to [[Alfonso Soriano]]. Clemens finished the season with an 18–4 record, and was awarded his seventh Cy Young Award, becoming the oldest player ever to win the Cy Young at age 42.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/houston-astros-history-roger-clemens-wins-seventh-cy-young-award-110916|title=Houston Astros History: Roger Clemens Wins Seventh Cy Young Award {{!}} FOX Sports|date=November 9, 2016|newspaper=FOX Sports|access-date=February 25, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref> This made him one of seven pitchers to win the award in both leagues, joining [[Gaylord Perry]], [[Pedro Martínez]], and [[Randy Johnson]] and later joined by [[Roy Halladay]], [[Max Scherzer]], and [[Blake Snell]]. Clemens was the losing pitcher for the Astros in Game Seven of the [[2004 National League Championship Series|2004 NLCS]] against the St. Louis Cardinals, allowing four runs in six innings. Although he pitched well, he tired in the sixth inning, surrendering all four runs.

Clemens again decided to put off retirement before the 2005 season after the Astros offered salary arbitration. The Astros submitted an offer of $13.5&nbsp;million, and Clemens countered with a record $22&nbsp;million demand. On January 21, 2005, both sides agreed on a one-year, $18,000,022 contract, thus avoiding arbitration. The deal gave Clemens the highest yearly salary earned by a pitcher in MLB history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050121&content_id=933093&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou |title=Astros ink Clemens to record deal |access-date=July 11, 2009 |first=Alyson |last=Footer |date=January 21, 2005 |work=[[MLB.com]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091126121341/http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050121&content_id=933093&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou |archive-date=November 26, 2009 }}</ref>

[[File:Roger Clemens 2005 (4).jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|Clemens pitching for the Astros in 2005.]]
Clemens's 2005 season ended as one of the finest he had ever posted. His 1.87 ERA was the lowest in the major leagues, the lowest of his 22-season career, and the lowest by any National Leaguer since [[Greg Maddux]] in 1995. He finished with a 13–8 record, with his lower win total primarily due to the fact that he ranked near the bottom of the major leagues in run support. The Astros scored an average of only 3.5 runs per game in games in which he was the [[pitcher of record]]. The Astros were [[shutouts in baseball|shut out]] nine times in Clemens's 32 starts, and failed to score in a 10th until after Clemens was out of the game. The Astros lost five of Clemens's starts by scores of 1–0. In April, Clemens did not allow a run in three consecutive starts. However, the Astros lost all three of those starts by a 1–0&nbsp;score in [[extra innings]].

Clemens won an emotional start on September 15, following his mother's death that morning.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/games/2005-09-14-marlins-astros_x.htm|title=Clemens wins one for his late mother|access-date=January 27, 2007|date=September 15, 2005|newspaper=[[USA Today]]}}</ref> In his final start of the 2005 season, Clemens got his 4,500th strikeout. On October 9, 2005, Clemens made his first relief appearance since 1984, entering as a [[pinch hitter]] in the 15th, then pitching three innings to get the win as the Astros defeated the [[Atlanta Braves]] in Game 4 of the [[2005 National League Division Series|NLDS]]. It is the longest postseason game in MLB history at 18 innings.<ref name=longest>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/HOU/HOU200510090.shtml "2005 National League Division Series (NLDS) Game 4, Braves at Astros, October 9."] ''www.sports-reference.com.'' Retrieved November 6, 2017.</ref> Clemens lasted only two innings in Game 1 of the [[2005 World Series]], and the Astros went on to be [[Whitewash (sport)|swept]] by the [[Chicago White Sox]]. It was the Astros' first World Series appearance. Clemens had aggravated a hamstring pull that had limited his performance since at least September.<ref>Sullivan, Paul. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150603080838/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2005-10-23/sports/0510230351_1_pitch-strain-hamstring "Clemens's hamstring may put strain on staff."] ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', October 23, 2005. Retrieved November 6, 2017.</ref>

Clemens said that he would retire again after the World Series but he wanted to represent the United States in the inaugural [[2006 World Baseball Classic|World Baseball Classic]], which would be played in March 2006.<ref name=world_baseball>Morosi, Jon Paul. [http://m.worldbaseballclassic.com/news/article/213220886/ "Should the DR pursue Big Papi for WBC '17?"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207113428/http://m.worldbaseballclassic.com/news/article/213220886/ |date=February 7, 2017 }} ''www.worldbaseballclassic.com'', January 10, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.</ref> He went 1–1 in the tournament, with a 2.08 ERA, striking out 10 batters in {{fraction|8|2|3}} innings.<ref name=rclemens>[https://www.worldbaseballclassic.com/stats/ "Stats: 2006 World Baseball Classic."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325125133/https://www.worldbaseballclassic.com/stats |date=March 25, 2019 }} ''www.worldbaseballclassic.com.'' Retrieved February 6, 2017.</ref> After pitching in a second-round loss to Mexico that eliminated the United States, Clemens began considering a return to the major leagues.<ref name=world_baseball/><ref>[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_16_usaint_mexint_1 "Mexico 2, United States 1, March 16, 2006."] ''www.mlb.com.'' Retrieved February 6, 2017.</ref> On May 31, 2006, following another extended period of speculation, it was announced that Clemens was coming out of retirement for the third time to pitch for the Astros for the remainder of the 2006 season. Clemens signed a contract worth $22,000,022 (his uniform number #22). Since Clemens did not play a full season, he received a prorated percentage of that: approximately $12.25&nbsp;million. Clemens made his return on June 22, 2006, against the [[Minnesota Twins]], losing to their [[rookie]] phenom, [[Francisco Liriano]], 4–2. For the second year in a row, his win total did not match his performance, as he finished the season with a 7–6 record, a 2.30 ERA, and a 1.04 [[Walks plus hits per inning pitched|WHIP]]. However, Clemens averaged just under 6 innings in his starts and never pitched into the eighth.