SEATTLE (AP) -- Chuck Finley hadn't pitched in eight days because of three consecutive rainouts in Boston. So his four walks in the first inning weren't a surprise to him.

"I was a little bit all over the place," he said. "I couldn't get my rhythm right away."

	After Justice took out Bell on a fielder's choice, the two exchanged words. Teammates had to step between them.

Finley figured it out, though, pitching two-hit ball for eight innings and striking out 10 as the Cleveland Indians cooled off Seattle 6-0 Monday night.

"He was kind of rusty," manager Charlie Manuel said. "At first, he was having trouble getting in the strike zone."

Finley (2-0) worked around his four walks in the first inning, helped when Mike Cameron was thrown out trying to steal. Jay Buhner flied out with the bases loaded to end the threat. Left fielder David Justice caught the ball on the warning track.

"When Buhner hit that ball, I thought it was gone," Finley said. "Fortunately for me, he got under it a little bit."

Mariners manager Lou Piniella agreed that Buhner's out was the key to the game.

"Jay hit that ball pretty good. He just missed it. That was about it. We didn't generate much offense. Finley pitched very well," Piniella said.

In all, Finley walked seven and threw a wild pitch. He improved his career record to 19-7 against the Mariners.

"I felt great warming up," Finley said. "After the first inning, I just tried to stay patient. I hadn't pitched in awhile."

Finley struck out Alex Rodriguez, Seattle's main offensive weapon, twice on called strikes. Rodriguez was 0-for-4 against Finley.

"It's better to capitalize early when you get opportunities against a guy like Finley," Rodriguez said. "You don't want to let him get his confidence and get rolling."

Steve Karsay pitched a hitless ninth to complete the combined shutout.

The Indians improved their road record to 8-2, best in the majors, and ended the Mariners' three-game winning streak.

Dan Wilson singled up the middle with one out in the fifth and Charles Gipson singled off second baseman Roberto Alomar's glove in the eighth for Seattle's hits.

Finley came out after making 125 pitches in eight innings. It was an easy decision, Manuel said.

"I need Chuck available for the whole season," the rookie manager said.

"I had a lot of pitches," Finley said. "When you walk seven guys, you're going to eat up a lot of pitches."

The Indians scored two runs in the first off Gil Meche (0-2). Manny Ramirez had a sacrifice fly and Jim Thome added an RBI single.

In the fifth, Cleveland made it 5-0. Alomar had a run-scoring single, Ramirez added another sacrifice fly and Thome had an RBI double.

Travis Fryman homered off Kevin Hodges to lead off the ninth.

Game notes
Justice upended second baseman David Bell in the fourth while breaking up a double play. Bell had some angry words for Justice, who had some angry words in return. Teammates stepped between the players. "That's Justice's job to take him out," Manuel said. "He was playing the game basically the way I want him to play. I didn't see him do anything unsportsmanlike." ... Finley's 19 victories against Seattle are his most against any team. He's the third-winningest pitcher against the Mariners -- Roger Clemens and Dave Stewart each have 20 victories. ... Finley took over the AL strikeout lead with 35. ... Hodges made his major league debut. ... Cleveland shortstop Omar Vizquel celebrated his 33rd birthday by going 3-for-4 and taking part in two double plays. ... The Indians notched their second shutout of the season, while Seattle was shut out for the third time.