Cleveland Indians pitcher Aaron Laffey delivers to the Kansas City Royals' Alberto Callaspo on Tuesday in Cleveland.
CLEVELAND – Indians pitcher Aaron Laffey was pleased that he kept the ball down during key points. Kansas City manager Trey Hillman was upset with his team’s approach at the plate.
The result was an impressive night for Cleveland’s defense.
Grady Sizemore hit a three-run homer and the Indians turned double plays in six straight innings in an 8-7 victory over the Royals on Tuesday.
“Our defense was unbelievable,” Laffey said.
Sizemore connected in Cleveland’s four-run fourth inning as the Indians built a 6-1 lead, but it was the six double play balls that saved the day for the Tribe.
Laffey (1-0) gave up a run in the first – the only run he allowed in seven innings – and was helped by double-play grounders in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh.
Coco Crisp bounced into an inning-ending double play in the seventh after the Royals loaded the bases.
The biggest double play came after Kansas City rallied for four runs in the eighth. The threat ended when Jensen Lewis got Miguel Olivo to bounce into a double play with the tying run on first.
“The double plays played big for us,” manager Eric Wedge said.
The six double plays tied a club record for the Indians and set a team mark for the Royals.
Other AL games
Yankees 5, Athletics 3: At New York, Johnny Damon hit the only home run in the first night game at the new Yankee Stadium and Andy Pettitte pitched New York to the victory.
Rangers 5, Blue Jays 4: At Toronto, Nelson Cruz and Canyon del Oro High grad Ian Kinsler hit two-run homers and Texas roughed up Roy Halladay.
Angels 4, Tigers 3: At Anaheim, Calif., Torii Hunter tied the game with a solo homer and scored the go-ahead run on Gary Matthews Jr.’s two-out double in the eighth inning, helping the Angels get the win.
Mariners 4, Rays 2: At Seattle, Jarrod Washburn tossed seven strong innings to continue his surprising start, and catcher Rob Johnson had a two-run triple for Seattle.
Orioles 10, White Sox 3: At Baltimore, Brad Bergesen allowed one earned run in his major league debut, Aubrey Huff homered twice and the Orioles ended a five-game losing streak.
Twins at Red Sox: At Boston, the game was postponed due to rain, and was rescheduled as the first game of a day-night doubleheader Wednesday.
NL: Cards rally past Mets
ST. LOUIS – Rick Ankiel hit a go-ahead RBI double after Daniel Murphy misplayed Brendan Ryan’s liner to left field for a triple, and the St. Louis Cardinals rallied from four runs down to beat the New York Mets 6-4 Tuesday night.
Albert Pujols had a two-run double, and Ankiel broke out of a 1-for-20 slide with three hits for the Cardinals. Khalil Greene, Joe Thurston and Ryan Ludwick also had RBIs for St. Louis.
Pirates 3, Marlins 2: At Pittsburgh, Jeff Karstens pitched six sharp innings, Freddy Sanchez homered and the surging Pirates beat Florida.
Nationals 4, Braves 3: At Washington, Adam Dunn homered, Washington’s beleaguered relievers tossed three scoreless innings for the second day in a row and the Nationals beat Atlanta for their second consecutive victory.
Astros 8, Dodgers 5: At Houston, Carlos Lee hit a two-run homer, Russ Ortiz pitched well after a rough first inning and the Astros ended Los Angeles’ eight-game winning streak.
Cubs 7, Reds 2: At Chicago, rookie Micah Hoffpauir homered and hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly and Rich Harden pitched six strong innings for the Cubs.
Phillies 11, Brewers 4: At Philadelphia, Pedro Feliz homered and drove in three runs, Jamie Moyer pitched six-plus effective innings and the Phillies overcame two homers from Ryan Braun.
Giants 8, Padres 3: At San Francisco, Edgar Renteria hit a grand slam off Jake Peavy and matched his career high with five RBIs, leading the Giants.