News
Lackey hit hard in sixth as Halos fall
Starter gets little support, gives up six runs to Indians
By Lyle Spencer / MLB.com
08/20/09 11:44 PM ET
CLEVELAND -- So that's what it feels like.The Angels were on the wrong end of some thunder and lightning on Thursday night, and that was after the rain stopped falling and the skies cleared over Progressive Field.
Former Red Sox right-hander Justin Masterson mastered the Angels' offense for 6 1/3 innings, and a seven-run sixth inning lifted the Indians to an 11-3 win that enabled the Tribe to avert a three-game sweep while snapping a five-game Angels winning streak.
Kendry Morales launched his 27th homer -- a two-run shot in the eighth behind Juan Rivera's triple -- matching Bobby Abreu for the club lead with 81 RBIs. But the issue had been decided before Joe Smith took the mound for the Tribe.
Shin-Soo Choo's second hit ignited the sixth-inning eruption against John Lackey. Travis Hafner followed Jhonny Peralta's single with an RBI double into the right-field corner. After a walk by Luis Valbuena and Kelly Shoppach's sacrifice fly, Matt LaPorta drilled a two-run double into the left-field corner, ending Lackey's night on a full-count slider.
"Up to that point," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said, "I thought John was throwing the ball very well. The big hit was LaPorta. He threw two breaking balls, and he hit one in the corner for a double. They put some good at-bats together."
Between Choo's RBI single in the first and his leadoff single in the sixth, Lackey had retired 14 of 17 hitters, walking three.
"I felt pretty good, even after the first couple hitters in the sixth," Lackey said. "Then I got in some trouble falling behind in counts and didn't do a good job.
"It's disappointing. It's a game you wanted to win and felt you should win, honestly. They put together a good inning and got after us. That guy [Masterson] pitched well. You've got to give him some credit, too."
After Lackey left, Andy Marte greeted Matt Palmer with an RBI single, and Asdrubal Cabrera's two-run double to the left-center gap after Grady Sizemore's second hit finished the seven-run assault.
Charged with six earned runs in 5 1/3 innings on six hits and four walks, Lackey fell to 8-6. He was attempting to join Nolan Ryan, Frank Tanana, Mike Witt and Chuck Finley -- a formidable rotation -- as the only pitchers in franchise history with 100 career wins.
Lackey will get another shot at No. 100 at home on Tuesday night against the Tigers.
"Lackey is a strong pitcher," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "Our guys did a good job of putting up some good at-bats and made him a little tired there at the end, which I think helped us get to him."
Thursday's game was the first time since the Rangers tagged him for six earned runs in 4 2/3 innings on July 7, spanning seven starts, that Lackey has yielded more than three earned runs and didn't pitch at least seven innings.
"The only thing for John that was uncharacteristic for him was to walk four guys," Scioscia said. "He had to work hard to get out of some innings because of that."
Lackey needed 108 pitches to get 16 outs -- not his normal level of efficiency.
Masterson, who used 110 pitches for 19 outs, also walked four but yielded only three hits. He moved to 4-4 overall and 1-1 since joining the Indians in the blockbuster deal that sent Victor Martinez to Boston.
Catcher Jeff Mathis, who was 3-for-5 with three RBIs against Masterson when Masterson pitched for the Red Sox, lined out and flied deep to center before walking to load the bases in the seventh.
That was the end of the road for Masterson, who watched Tony Sipp strike out Chone Figgins and retire Maicer Izturis on a fly ball to quell the threat.
Mathis doubled in the ninth against southpaw Rafael Perez, who finished the game.
"That's the hardest I've seen him throw, and we've faced him a few times," Mathis said of Masterson, who can look Lackey in the eye at 6-foot-6. "He kind of slings it. Sometimes it goes straight, sometimes it sinks. He threw the ball well."
The Angels struck first with an unearned run, courtesy of second baseman Valbuena's error on Izturis' grounder. Bobby Abreu's 375-foot single to right-center field sent Izturis to third, and he scored when Shoppach couldn't handle a Masterson delivery for a passed ball.
Quickly matching it, the Indians were on the scoreboard three hitters into their half of the first. Sizemore dropped a double beyond shortstop Erick Aybar's reach in shallow left, advanced on a grounder and scored on an infield hit by Choo.
Aybar's errant throw on the move after reaching Choo's grounder behind second ended a stretch of 61 errorless innings by the Angels, covering six games.
Juan Rivera fouled a ball off his left shin before his triple in the eighth, but the left fielder said he expected to be ready to go in Toronto when a three-game series opens on Friday night.
Lyle Spencer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
