The Rocket’s 350th win was a gem.

Roger Clemens reached a rare milestone, pitching eight innings of two-hit ball to lead the Yankees past the Minnesota Twins 5–1 last night.

Clemens became the first major leaguer to win 350 games since Hall of Famer Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves accomplished the feat by beating the Chicago Cubs 2–0 on September 29, 1963 — just more than a year after Clemens was born. Yankees manager Joe Torre was Spahn’s catcher in that game.

Bobby Abreu hit a go-ahead homer and finished with three hits for the Yankees, who won for only the third time in 12 games. Alex Rodriguez got his 80th RBI on a first-inning grounder, then left in the sixth because of a strained left hamstring.

Rodriguez tripped over first baseman Justin Morneau’s ankle while beating out a potential double play. He remained in the game and advanced to second base before coming out. A-Rod, who was replaced on defense at third base by Miguel Cairo, will be re-evaluated today.

In a vintage performance, Clemens (2–3) retired his final 15 batters after Joe Mauer’s leadoff double in the fourth. The seven-time Cy Young Award winner struck out four and walked one in the longest outing of his latest comeback this season.

He pumped his fist after striking out his final hitter and walked off the mound to a loud ovation from the crowd of 53,036 as Elton John’s “Rocket Man” played over the loudspeakers.

Clemens, who will turn 45 next month, lost his previous three starts after winning his season debut against Pittsburgh. He even failed to strike out a batter in his most recent outing, a 4–0 loss at Baltimore. That ended a streak of 200 consecutive starts with at least one strikeout.

This time, the Rocket outpitched Minnesota’s Boof Bonser, who fell to 0-3 in four starts since beating Washington on June 10. It was his second loss to the Yankees this year.

All-Star Torii Hunter struck out once and grounded out twice against Clemens, leaving him 0-for-25 with 14 strikeouts in his career against the right-hander.