SEATTLE, April 23 (UPI) -- Gil Meche worked into the eighth inning and John Olerud hit his first homer of the season Wednesday night as the Seattle Mariners blanked the Cleveland Indians, 4-0.
In a career-high 7 2/3 innings, Meche (2-1) scattered five singles. He matched a career high with eight strikeouts, walked two and threw 109 pitches before departing.
Before the game, the Mariners placed closer Kazuhiro Sasaki on the 15-day disabled list with a lower back strain. Meche's outing kept manager Bob Melvin from relying heavily on his relievers, who have allowed 23 earned runs this season.
Shigetoshi Hasegawa got the final out of the eighth, Arthur Rhodes allowed a hit in the ninth and Jeff Nelson got the final out of Seattle's ninth win in 11 games.
Cleveland rookie starter Ricardo Rodriguez (2-1) allowed four runs and five hits in seven innings. Among the hits was Olerud's solo homer in the fourth that just cleared the right field fence.
