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Choo helps Indians rally past Royals

Aug 20, 2010 - 5:02 AM KANSAS CITY, Mo.(AP) -- One night after collecting 17 hits and losing, the Cleveland Indians made a season-high five errors, had a runner thrown out at every base and won.

Shin-Soo Choo hit a tiebreaking RBI single in a five-run eighth inning and the Indians rallied to beat the Kansas City Royals 7-3 on Thursday night.

"We made a lot of mistakes and it wasn't a pretty game," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "Five errors, a hit batsman, the walks, and we ended up winning, but it was not a pretty game. We put together a lot of good at-bats there in the eighth inning that won us the ballgame."

Cleveland's last victory when they committed five errors was July 12, 1996, at Minnesota.

Asdrubal Cabrera had two hits and drove in two runs for the Indians, while Matt LaPorta and Jayson Nix had two hits apiece.

LaPorta had a 13-pitch at-bat in the eighth before hitting an RBI single to center off Royals starter Kyle Davies.

"It came down to the LaPorta at-bat," Davies said. "I threw him everything I had. He was able to foul off some really tough pitches. He fought them off. I had to throw him a strike 3-2 and I hung the cutter and he hit it.

"It's really disappointing. We wanted to get the sweep. We had them 3-0, one out in the eighth inning and nobody on and the starter is still in."

Davies was pulled two pitches later after giving up a single to Jason Donald.

"It was nice to help out," LaPorta said. "I was just trying to stay out there. He kept throwing me good pitches and I just kept fouling them off. He threw a great game. My at-bat pushed him over a 100 (pitches), but he was still coming at me. He was still throwing 96 (mph) and mixing in breaking balls and changeups. He was still pitching well. I just kept fighting."

Rafael Perez (4-0), the fourth of five Indians pitchers, pitched 1 1-3 scoreless innings and Chris Perez got four outs for his 15th save in 19 opportunities.

Alex Gordon had three hits and Wilson Betemit drove in two runs for Kansas City, which had won three straight. Davies allowed three runs and seven hits in 7 1-3 innings.

Betemit hit a two-out, two-run single in the fifth inning to give Kansas City a 3-0 lead. The Royals had a chance at a bigger inning, with four singles, a walk and an Indians error, but Mitch Maier struck out to leave the bases loaded.

Cleveland had seven singles and a walk in the eighth, sending 11 men to the plate. LaPorta and pinch-hitter Shelly Duncan had RBI singles. Cabrera drove in a run with a sacrifice fly before Choo's clutch hit, and Travis Hafner capped the big inning with a run-scoring infield hit.

Blake Wood (1-3), who replaced Davies, recorded just one out and was charged with two runs and two hits.

"It always stings when you play a game like that and lose it late," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "They hurt more than the other ones."

Cabrera also had an RBI double in Cleveland's two-run ninth.

The Indians' shoddy defense hurt them in the fourth when first baseman LaPorta's throwing error allowed Billy Butler to score. LaPorta fielded Maier's grounder with the bases loaded and threw wildly to home.

Cleveland center fielder Michael Brantley sprained his left ankle grounding out in the ninth. The Indians said X-rays were negative and Brantley is day to day.

Maier left after seven innings with a stiff neck and was replaced by Jai Miller, who made his Royals debut.

Rookie right-hander Mitch Talbot allowed three runs, two earned, and eight hits in 4 2-3 innings for Cleveland. Talbot is winless in seven starts since a June 27 victory at Cincinnati.

"It was kind of crazy how we turned it around," Talbot said.

NOTES: Acta addressed his slumping team during a pregame meeting. "We're a young team, but I have the right to tell them that I'm not happy with the way we're playing the last 12 days," he said. "We wanted them to know we're not going to be rebuilding forever. These guys are not September callups. These guys have a legit chance to be a long-term part of this club. It's about making progress. That's the reason for the meeting." ... Royals RHP Gil Meche reports Saturday to Triple-A for a minor league rehab assignment as a reliever. Meche is on the 60-day disabled list with a shoulder injury. ... Yost celebrated his 56th birthday. The Royals are 40-46 since he replaced Trey Hillman, who was fired May 13. ... The announced attendance of 9,732 was the smallest Kauffman Stadium crowd of the year.