One is enough

SEATTLE – A year ago, Luke French was a self-described overweight bag of nerves, trying so hard to prove he belonged in the big leagues that he crumbled under the burden.

He lost 20 pounds during the offseason and vowed to come back as the pitcher the Mariners thought they were getting last year when they acquired him, along with minor league pitcher Mauricio Robles, from the Detroit Tigers for Jarrod Washburn.

Friday night, French was that pitcher.

He held the Cleveland Indians hitless for 6 1/3 innings before Shelley Duncan singled, then yielded to a bullpen and defense that preserved a 1-0 Mariners victory at Safeco Field.

French is 4-4 with a 3.64 earned-run average and has won his past two starts. It’s a continuation of what he accomplished with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, where he went 11-3 with a 2.94 ERA. The Rainiers named him their pitcher of the year on Thursday, even though he has been with the Mariners since July 28.

It’s also a product of the mental and physical transformation French put himself through after last season, when he was 3-3 with a 6.38 ERA in six starts before the Mariners sent him to the bullpen for most of September.

“Mentally and physically, I’m in better shape,” French said. “It’s the mentality of not trying to do more than what you can do. It’s trusting what you do and having confidence that you do it well. That’s how I’ve approached it and it’s been really freeing.”

It was liberating on Friday to a Mariners team that needed such an outing, considering the offense backed French with one run. That came in the first inning on Franklin Gutierrez’s RBI single.

The defense behind him was important, too, especially on the last pitch French threw.

With Shin-Soo Choo on second base and Duncan on first after his single, Jayson Nix hit a sinking liner to left field.

Left fielder Michael Saunders used his speed to make the catch, then threw to second and doubled off Choo for the third out.

Closer David Aardsma pitched the ninth for his 27th save, although the defense behind him was just as responsible.

He walked Trevor Crowe to start the inning, but catcher Adam Moore erased that runner with a strong throw to second base when Crowe tried to steal.

Michael Brantley and Asdrubal Cabrerea hit back-to-back singles off Aardsma to put runners on first and second with one out before Choo launched a hold-your-breath flare down the left-field line. Saunders again sped to the ball and made the catch while sliding on his knees.

Two outs.

Aardsma got two strikes on Duncan but threw a wild pitch that advanced runners to second and third. On his way to a full count against Duncan, Aardsma threw another pitch into the dirt that Moore blocked, leaving the runners in place.

Aardsma then threw what would have been ball four, but Duncan took a wild swing at the eye-level pitch and struck out, ending a tense game.

Mariners 1, Indians 0