Matthew Paul Clement [cluh-MENT] (born August 12, 1974 in McCandless Township, Pennsylvania) is a starting pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. Previously, Clement played for the San Diego Padres ( - ), Florida Marlins ( ), Chicago Cubs ( - ) and Boston Red Sox ( - ). While on the Red Sox active roster in, he was injured all of the 2007 season. He bats and throws right-handed.
From through , Clement has posted an 82-81 record with 1174 strikeouts and a 4.37 ERA in 1347.3 innings.
Clement has a sinking fastball in the low 90s and a hard slider he mixes with a four-seamer and a changeup. He has held opposing batters to a .233 batting average from 2002-05, while posting a 47-42 record and a 3.99 ERA.
In June 2004, Clement was 6-2 and an obvious candidate to be named to the All-Star Game. But in his next six starts before the break, Clement went 0-4, despite a 2.15 ERA. His run support in those starts was just 1.19 runs per game. He finished with a 3.68 ERA but went 9-13 for the Cubs, who scored only 79 runs in his 30 starts (which is 4.03 runs of support per game, the sixth-lowest mark in the NL). Against American League teams in interleague play, Clement had a 7-7 record with a 3.60 ERA in 19 starts. He underwent shoulder surgery in September of 2006 and will be out for an extended period of time, though the injury is not expected to threaten his career. Recently, he has improved, but was unable to return before the end of the 2007 season.
