CLEVELAND Following disasters, Traber master

The Indians' 3-0 win over Seattle included homers by Jody Gerut and Travis Hafner.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Billy Traber followed a bad start with a good one -- again.
The left-hander pitched five-hit ball for seven innings and fellow rookies Jody Gerut and Travis Hafner hit solo homers as the Cleveland Indians beat the Seattle Mariners 3-0 Thursday night.
The Indians took two of three from Seattle, which remained three games ahead of Oakland in the AL West.
Traber is 3-1 with a 0.98 ERA in starts following games in which he gave up four or more runs -- but 0-2 with a 14.34 ERA after outings in which he allowed one or fewer runs.
"It's your job to stay level," he said. "You get too high, bring yourself down, and if you're down, bring it up."
Effective pitches
Traber (6-6) stopped Seattle with an array of slow breaking balls in much the same manner as Mariners ace Jamie Moyer did in a 2-1 win two nights earlier.
"Sure, I watched him," Traber said. "He just baffles guys and frustrates them, one thing I need to do."
Traber struck out five and walked two, throwing only 83 pitches.
"Billy was outstanding," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "He showed his mental toughness. I was tempted to leave him in there."
David Riske pitched the eighth and Danys Baez worked the ninth for his 24th save.
Coming back from a start in which he allowed six runs and five hits over two innings Friday in a 10-3 loss at Texas was satisfying, too.
"There are no excuses like saying 'It was one of those days,' " Traber said. "There's always reasons. Did I prepare well enough before that start? I tried to do a better job of that and got a result."
The left-hander is 2-1 in four starts since tossing a one-hitter over the Yankees on July 8.
That gem came after he allowed seven runs and 11 hits in 22/3 innings to Kansas City.
Freddy Garcia (9-12) lost for the sixth time in seven starts, but had his best outing in more than a month. He gave up two runs and six hits while striking out seven without a walk in 61/3 innings.
"He pitched well," Mariners manager Bob Melvin said, adding that he was impressed at how the right-hander has overcome the pressure of constant trade talks and rumors of his being sent to the bullpen.
"He's pitching with his back to the wall before he even goes out there," Melvin said. "I give him credit, he had a nice performance."
Short shots
Three of Seattle's hits off Traber never left the infield, including two bunts.
"He gave us a different look every time," Edgar Martinez said. "His location was great and he kept us off balance."
Third baseman Casey Blake made two diving stops to take away Seattle hits. In the third inning, he went to his left to snare a shot by Willie Bloomquist.
With a runner on second in the fourth, he robbed Randy Winn with a backhanded grab behind the bag.
"You don't practice plays like that," Blake said. "You just trust your instincts. Sometimes you get lucky."
Gerut hit his 14th homer over the wall in right-center leading off the fourth and Hafner made it 2-0 by leading off the fifth with his seventh homer.
Milton Bradley went 2-for-4 and is hitting .360 (9-for-25) in August.