News
Laffey strong as Tribe blanks Mariners
Left-hander strikes out seven in seven shutout innings
By Bob Sherwin / Special to MLB.com
07/25/09 2:11 AM ET
SEATTLE -- Aaron Laffey spent Friday evening surrounded by his best friends. They came in the form of double plays, home runs and Indians catcher Victor Martinez. They all combined to give the Indians a 9-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. "I think this outing tonight was one of best I've seen him throw," said Martinez. "He was on from the first pitch to the last pitch." Laffey (4-2) went seven innings -- matching his career high -- allowed just three hits, no runs and struck out a career-high seven batters. The Indians left-hander was supported by a crisp defense that turned three doubles plays and home runs by Travis Hafner, Ben Francisco, Ryan Garko and Jamey Carroll. "That's about as good as we've seen Aaron pitch in a long time," manager Eric Wedge said. "He looked strong out there. He was making pitches; he was aggressive. He did a good job of adding and subtracting with his velocity." In his previous start Sunday against the Mariners, he was knocked around a bit, as he went six innings and gave up three runs on eight hits. It looked like it was going to be a repeat of that performance Friday night, as he threw 26 first-inning pitches and loaded the bases, but he managed to ease out of it. "My last start, I really didn't have much, kind of a dead arm," Laffey said. "I just felt a little weak and it translated into the game. Everything was dying at the plate. "Coming into tonight's game I felt better so I had more confidence. I was able to stick my pitches a lot more tonight than the last time I faced them." Laffey kept his defense busy, as three double plays were turned behind him in the first three innings. "They got me out of the innings, saved me some pitches and got me deeper into the game," he said. "Anytime a guy's on first, I always think, 'One pitch; two outs.' I made some quality pitches down in the zone and 90 percent of the time it's the sinker." After allowing a leadoff single in the second, Laffey retired 17 of his next 18 batters. "The first couple of innings he was having trouble commanding his fastball," Martinez said. "So I went to his slider early in the count and he started throwing it for strikes. I think when he started throwing his slider for strikes he found the release point for his fastball. He started to locate his fastball. That's what made him tough tonight." Laffey said it was tandem in harmony. "Me and Vic were in a great rhythm tonight. I don't think I shook him once," Laffey said. "Whatever he put down, I had confidence in whatever he put down. "When you trust your catcher that much, you can relax. I have an idea what I want to do then 95 percent of the time when you're thinking of a pitch, he's putting down the exact same pitch. It's a good feeling to have." The Indians pushed a run across in the second. Jhonny Peralta, who had three hits, opened with a single to left. With one out, Ryan Garko just missed a home run, slicing outside the left-field foul pole. But on the next pitch, he doubled into the left-center gap, moving Peralta to third. Carroll walked to load the bases and then Francisco lifted a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Peralta. Peralta opened the seventh with a single followed by Hafner's first-pitch home run, his 10th of the season. Francisco hit his eighth later in the inning. "I thought Hafner's was real good going after that first-pitch fastball," Wedge said. "He had to go up and get it, he was ready for it. Then we went from there. That was a big hit for us." Garko pumped a three-run shot in the five-run ninth followed by Carroll's first home run. It was the Tribe's first back-to-back blasts since June 7. "I thought Laffey threw a heck of a ballgame," Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu added. "The tempo was good, he kept the ball down in the zone, changed speeds, kept our hitters off balance. He was awfully, awfully tough today."Bob Sherwin is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
