Kendrick drives in 5 runs, leads Lackey and Angels over Indians 9-3

Kendrick’s 5 RBIs lead Angels over Indians 9-3

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Howie Kendrick homered and drove in a career-high five runs as the Los Angeles Angels beat Cleveland 9-3 Wednesday, hours after the Indians traded away reigning AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee.

Lee and outfielder Ben Francisco were sent to Philadelphia for a package of four minor leaguers.

John Lackey (7-4) won a tongue-twisting matchup against Aaron Laffey, giving up a run and three hits in seven innings. He struck out eight and walked four.

Lackey, who started the season on the disabled list because of a strained right forearm, is 4-0 with a 1.47 ERA over his last four starts.

Laffey (4-3) gave up seven runs and seven hits in four-plus innings. He and Lackey faced each other once before, on July 23, 2008, when Laffey lost a 14-11 decision in Anaheim.

Kendrick singled home a run in the first inning, added a two-run single off reliever Chris Perez in the fifth and capped his day with a two-run homer in the seventh off rookie left-hander Tony Sipp.

In 17 games since his return from a three-week demotion to Triple-A Sale Lake, Kendrick is batting .383 (23 for 60) with 14 RBIs.

The AL West-leading Angels reached the 100-game mark with a 60-40 record, one win shy of last season at this stage. They have played better than .500 ball during the first 100 games in each of Mike Scioscia’s 10 seasons as manager, reaching the 60-win plateau three times.

Laffey needed an astounding 43 pitches to get out of a two-run first in which catcher Kelly Shoppach committed two passed balls — one of which allowed Chone Figgins to reach base on a strikeout. Kendry Morales and Kendrick hit RBI singles.

Cleveland scored in the fourth when Shin-Soo Choo doubled and Jhonny Peralta had a sacrifice fly, giving him 14 RBIs in his last eight games.

The Angels broke it open with five runs in the fifth and opened up a 7-1 lead.

Each of the first six batters in the inning reached base. Bobby Abreu singled home a run, Morales had an RBI double and Kendrick lined a two-run single off the glove of leaping second baseman Luis Valbuena with the infield playing in.

Choo, who reached base in 11 of 14 plate appearances in this three-game series, was plunked by Lackey with two outs in the top of the first. The next batter, Victor Martinez, was hit with an 0-2 delivery before Lackey came back to strike out Peralta. The Indians have been hit a major league-leading 61 times this season, after setting a big league record last year with 103 HBPs.

NOTES: The Indians are 3-37 when scoring fewer than four runs. … Cleveland’s catchers had five passed balls through the team’s previous 101 games this season. … Cleveland CF and leadoff hitter Grady Sizemore, who missed the previous two games because he was sick, was 0 for 4 with a walk in his return to the lineup. … Lee’s .634 winning percentage with the Indians is the highest in club history for pitchers with 1,000 or more innings. Last August, he was 5-0 with a 1.86 ERA in five starts. … Cleveland finished its road trip 6-3 after dropping the final two. … Abreu’s first-inning single off the glove of 3B Peralta was the Angels’ major league-leading 99th infield hit of the season. … Travis Hafner, who hit three homers at Angel Stadium on July 20, 2004, was 0 for 3 with two strikeouts against Lackey and is 4 for 26 against him lifetime.