PEORIA, Ariz. — Aaron Laffey wasn’t overly pleased by his first start of the spring Tuesday, but the results were still positive.

“I felt all right,” said Laffey, who worked two scoreless innings, allowing just a hit in Cleveland’s 6-4 victory over the Mariners at Peoria Sports Complex. “I didn’t throw a lot of strikes, but I was able to get six outs. That’s the most important thing.”

“I thought he threw the ball very well,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “He didn’t throw as many first-pitch strikes as he would have liked, but he still made pitches when he was behind in the count.”

It was Laffey’s second exhibition outing. The left-hander has yet to allow a run and has given up just one hit over four innings.

“Overall, I feel good physically and I’m happy with my outings so far,” he said. “I want to be consistent every time out.”

Despite pitching relatively well for the Indians in 35 starts over the past two seasons, Laffey, 24, finds himself fighting for a spot in the rotation again this spring. He is one of a handful of pitchers vying for the final two jobs, his main competition being left-hander David Huff and righty Mitch Talbot.

“I’ve shown everything I can over the last couple years,” said Laffey, who went 7-9 with a 4.44 ERA in 25 games (19 starts) last season. “I just need to be more consistent. That’s what (the Indians) told me and I agree 100 percent.”

Masterson’s mess

Third starter Justin Masterson’s second exhibition outing didn’t go as smoothly as his first. The right-hander failed to last two innings, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk in 11/3 innings.

“He had a lot of movement on his sinker and it was out of the zone,” Acta said. “He threw more pitches than we wanted.”

Hodges delivers

Prospect Wes Hodges opened some eyes by driving in four of Cleveland’s runs with a pair of two-run doubles. Hodges, a second-round pick in 2006, was limited to 86 games for Triple-A Columbus last year, batting .265 with five home runs and 38 RBIs.

“What I’ve heard from a lot of people, he’s shown that to me. He can swing the bat,” Acta said. “We’re going to take an extended look at him. You never know.”

Though Hodges’ future is most likely at third base, Acta said he would play more first this spring, with Jhonny Peralta, Andy Marte and Lonnie Chisenhall getting the majority of reps at third.

Roundin’ third

PredictionMachine.com played the 2010 season 50,000 times with the Red Sox winning the World Series 18.3 percent of the time to the Yankees’ 18.1 percent.

The Indians joined the Orioles, Blue Jays, Padres, Nationals and Pirates as the only teams that won zero percent of the time.

Today, 3:05, vs. Padres at Goodyear Ballpark, SportsTime Ohio, WTAM-1100 (delay 7 p.m.). David Huff (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Wade LeBlanc (0-0, 4.50). Russell Branyan and Matt LaPorta are expected to make their exhibition debuts today.

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.