Sources: DNA links Clemens to syringes

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Roger Clemens' DNA has been linked to syringes that a trainer says he used to inject the former pitcher with performance-enhancing drugs, sources say.

Two unnamed sources familiar with the investigation into the baseball great say the DNA results, which they caution are preliminary, could be a critical piece of the puzzle if prosecutors seek to indict of Clemens on charges he lied to Congress about the use of steroids, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Clemens told a U.S. House committee last year that he has never taken performance-enhancing drugs. Also testifying at the same hearing was the pitcher's former personal trainer, Brian McNamee, who said he injected Clemens nearly 40 times with steroids and human growth hormone between 1998 and 2001.

Clemens says McNamee is lying about the pitcher's alleged drug use.

The Post said the disclosure of the test results comes as U.S. officials seem to be stepping up their probe of Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner who pitched for the Red Sox, Blue Jays, Yankees and Astros. A federal grand jury recently heard testimony from a clubhouse attendant, Kirk Radomski, who supplied McNamee with the performance-enhancing drugs, the newspaper said.