HOUSTON -- When Roger Clemens pitches Saturday night for the Sugar Land Skeeters it will be the first time the 50-year-old has taken the mound in almost five years. Will he still be the Rocket who intimidated hitters in the majors for more than 20 years? Or will his extended absence and age leave him struggling against players less skilled than the ones he used to face? Clemens signed with the Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League on Monday and he is expected to start for the minor league team on Saturday at home against Bridgeport. "His fastball was clocked at 87 mph. All of his pitches were working," said Randy Hendricks, Clemens agent. "He threw a three-inning simulated game after an extensive workout warmup." Clemens and Skeeters manager Gary Gaetti have been talking about this "for months," Hendricks said. Clemens is expected to discuss his decision Tuesday during a news conference in Sugar Land, about 20 miles southwest of Houston. His signing has some wondering if it is the first step in a return to the majors. Minnesota Twins manager and fellow Texas Longhorn Ron Gardenhire cracked a joke when asked about Clemens on Monday. "Ill take that Longhorn any day. I dont know all the rules, but Ill be tampering: We do have a spot, right?" Gardenhire said, chuckling. Clemens, acquitted in June of charges he lied to Congress when he denied using performance-enhancing drugs, hasnt played for a team since pitching for the New York Yankees in 2007 at the age of 45. He went 6-6 in 18 games with a 4.18 ERA that season. Texas Rangers pitcher Roy Oswalt, a former teammate of Clemens with the Astros, is excited about his friends return to baseball. "I think hes going to show everybody that all that stuff that he had to go through had nothing to do with the success he had in the big leagues," Oswalt said. "He said hes going to do it a little bit and see how his body responds. I wouldnt be surprised next year if hes pitching in the big leagues for somebody." Clemens has been throwing batting practice to one of his sons often, and Oswalt said that Clemens "feels pretty good." Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who is three years younger than Clemens, said it is difficult to get that urge to compete out of your blood. "Hes always loved to compete," Girardi said of Clemens. "Thats who he is. He kept coming back. There were times he felt he couldnt quite go a full season, but he gave it as much as he had. He loved to compete. Thats a hard thing to replace is that competition. Guys miss it." Clemens had two great seasons with the Astros after he turned 40, going 18-4 with a 2.98 ERA in 2004 to win his record seventh Cy Young Award. He was 13-8 with a career-low 1.87 ERA in 2005. Clemens earned $160 million and won 354 games in a 24-year career with the Red Sox, Blue Jays, Yankees and Astros. His 4,672 strikeouts are third-most and he was named to 11 All-Star games. Now he will see what he has left for the Skeeters. He joins a roster that includes former major league pitchers Tim Redding and Scott Kazmir and Jason Lane, a teammate of Clemens on Houstons 2005 World Series team. "Thats great, if he thinks he can do it," Gardenhire said. "He worked harder than anybody Ive ever seen. His routine and program, I dont think too many people could stay with that. If he has continued to work out, hes probably in good enough shape. (Hes) a big strong Texan." It isnt clear how long Clemens will pitch for the Skeeters. "This is a one-game-at-a-time thing," Hendricks said. "Lets see how he does on Saturday." Some in baseball werent quite as keen on the idea as Oswalt. "He didnt travel with the Astros half the time toward the end there," Oakland pitcher Brett Anderson said. "I cant imagine him travelling for the Sugar Land Skeeters. Im sure theyll draw a good crowd and it will be fun, but its kind of those things you read about it and youre like: Whats he doing?" Clemens is set to appear on the Hall of Fame ballot going to voters late this year. If he plays in another major league game, his Hall consideration would be pushed back five years. Clemens was accused of using steroids and HGH in the Mitchell Report on drugs in baseball, something he denied. The Justice Department began an investigation concerning whether Clemens had lied under oath, and in 2010 a grand jury indicted him on two counts of perjury, three counts of making false statements and one count of obstructing Congress when he testified during a deposition and at a hearing that he never used any performance-enhancing drugs. He was acquitted of all the charges on June 19 after a 10-week trial and has largely stayed out of the public spotlight until now. "I think hes going to come back and try to prove a lot of doubters wrong," Oswalt said. 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In some cases that may be a function of how many players are capable of stepping and playing the position at an NFL level, but theres also a need for many teams to break up the workload, either based on specialties or lack of a dominant performer. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Tampa Bays suddenly potent bats are giving the Rays renewed hope for their playoff chase. Ben Zobrist and Jose Molina homered in support of a strong pitching performance by James Shields, and the Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 12-1 to pull within 4 1/2 games of the Oakland Athletics in the American League wild-card race on Friday night. "It was pretty promising today," slugger Evan Longoria said. "I saw a lot of spark and life we havent seen in the dugout as of late. You hope its not too little, too late." The Rays won for only the fourth time in 11 games, but the three-game winning streak that has followed manager Joe Maddons decision to shut down batting practice and allow players to arrive at the ballpark a little later has revived the possibility of finishing strong and making the playoffs for the fourth time in five years. Maddon changed the pregame routine after his offence continued to sputter in losing Monday and Tuesday to begin a four-game series against Boston. After scoring 13 runs on Wednesday, the Rays used a six-run ninth to beat the Red Sox again Thursday and finished with 16 hits Friday. "At some point, youve just got to say: Hey, it aint working this way. Just let me chill out a little bit and go out there and play a little," Maddon said. "I think for the most part, a lot of the guys are starting to find that more relaxed zone to play to in and hit in." "I totally, absolutely believe we can do this. I firmly believe that," Maddon added. "Again, its about a bunch of one-game winning streaks on our part. Were very capable. We have the pitching to do it, and I do believe guys are fresh. ... We have to keep playing, keep applying pressure to (teams) that are slightly above us." Shields (15-9) limited the Blue Jays to six singles over seven shutout innings to improve to 7-2 over his past 10 starts. The right-hander struck out nine to reach 200 for the second straight year, and when he fanned J.P. Arencibia leading off the second inning, the Rays broke the AL record for strikeouts in a season. Luke Scott drove in four runs with a pair of doubles for the Rays, who trail the first-place Yankees by 6 1/2 games in the AL East. "We cant really look up too much," Longoria said. "But if we can continue to do what we did tonight, we should put ourselves in a good spot. But the bottom line is weve got to win." Zobrist hit a solo homer in the first and Molina had a two-run shot in the second against Carlos Villanueva (7-6), who allowed seven runs and eight hits in 2 1-3 innings. "I didnt let down at any mmoment.dddddddddddd. I tried to keep battling. ... But it was like, anything I threw up there they hit," Villanueva said. "A big part of our success more recently is were not expanding our strike zone," Maddon said. "If we can continue to not expand our strike zone and force the pitcher over the plate, I think we can continue this upsurge." Rays pitchers began the night with 1,264 strikeouts, two shy of the 2001 Yankees. Shields struck out Brett Lawrie and Edwin Encarnacion in the first, then got Arencibia swinging on a 2-2 pitch to begin the second. The major league record is 1,404, set by the Chicago Cubs in 2003. The Rays have 1,275 with 11 games remaining. Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar remained out of the starting lineup despite being eligible to return after serving a three-game suspension for wearing eye-black displaying an anti-gay slur written in Spanish during a game last weekend against Boston. He entered the game as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning and singled off Brandon Gomes. Yan Gomes followed with a double that drove in Torontos only run. Blue Jays manager John Farrell said Escobar, who served the penalty this week during a trio of losses to the Yankees, may be back in the lineup on Saturday. "When we met earlier today it became increasing clear during that discussion that he needs another day to get back and be ready to play a major league game," Farrell said. "Its not so much staying in shape or baseball activity, its just about how hes dealing with the fallout of what he did. Hes remorseful for what took place, and as a result he needs another day to get things in line." Villanueva won his first six decisions this season, but hes won once over his past 10 starts -- a 2-0 victory over Tampa Bay at home on Aug. 30. He dropped to 0-3 lifetime at Tropicana Field, where hes yielded five homers, 18 earned runs and 24 hits in 12 innings. NOTES: Rays batters also have struck out at a prolific pace this season. They fanned just five times Friday night, but have 1,230 with 11 games left. They are the first team in AL history to have at least 1,200 strikeouts on both offence and defence. The league record is 1,324 by the 2007 Devil Rays. ... The Blue Jays traded C Yorvit Torrealba to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for a player to be named or cash. ... Dating to 2007, Toronto has lost 16 consecutive road series against the Rays, who have won six of the seven games the teams have played at Tropicana Field this year. ... Tampa Bay Lightning coach Guy Boucher used a hockey stick to shoot the ceremonial first pitch from the mound across home plate. ' ' '