BOSTON -- When the Red Sox arrived at Fenway Park on April 29, 1986, they were just another team trying to contend in the American League East. Their pitcher that night was Roger Clemens, a flame-throwing 23-year-old righty who was starting to prove that the hype surrounding him was real.

By the time the magical night was over, Clemens had taken his stardom to another level, and the Red Sox firmly believed they would make the playoffs for the first time in 11 years.

Facing the Mariners on a chilly Tuesday night, Clemens set a Major League record with 20 strikeouts.

There wouldn’t be another 20-strikeout game in the Majors for 10 years, when Clemens tied his own record in what proved to be his final win for the Red Sox on Sept. 18, 1996.

But in 1986, Clemens was just getting started. It was on the heels of that night that teammate Bruce Hurst dubbed him “The Rocket.” The nickname stuck.

Even in this age when pitchers are racking up strikeouts more than ever, 20 K's still hasn’t been topped. Kerry Wood, Randy Johnson and Max Scherzer are the only others to strike out 20.

Clemens definitely had some extra octane in his right shoulder that night in 1986. His scheduled start in Kansas City on April 27 had been postponed due to rain, giving him two extra days of rest.

The Mariners didn’t even know what hit them as Clemens came out firing, striking out Spike Owen, Phil Bradley and Ken Phelps to open the game.

In the fourth inning, something fortuitous happened when first baseman Don Baylor dropped a foul popup by Gorman Thomas. Clemens wound up striking out Thomas.

Clemens had 12 strikeouts through five frames. For those in attendance, it felt like something special was on the verge of happening.

Joe Castiglione and his late, great broadcast partner, Ken Coleman, were certainly feeling it from their perch in the radio booth.

"About the third inning, I said to Ken, 'This is different. They're not even fouling balls back. This is really something special,"' Castiglione said.

All Clemens needed was a little offense, and Dwight Evans provided it with a three-run homer in the seventh that gave the Sox a 3-1 lead.

To open the ninth, Clemens whiffed Owen to tie the record with 19. And for record-setting No. 20, he fanned Bradley for the fourth time. Phelps grounded to short to end the game, and the Red Sox mobbed Clemens as if he had thrown a no-hitter.

Clemens went on to go 24-4 that season, winning the American League Cy Young Award and the AL Most Valuable Player Award. The Red Sox won the pennant, and they came one strike away from beating the mighty Mets in the World Series.