SEATTLE -- Mariners closer Kazuhiro Sasaki is making his second trip to the disabled list after injuring his ribs while carrying a suitcase up a flight of stairs in his home.

	Kazuhiro Sasaki Relief Pitcher Seattle Mariners Profile
	2003 SEASON STATISTICS GM W L Sv K ERA 22 1 1 10 21 4.12

Seattle placed Sasaki on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to last Friday, before Wednesday night's game with the Montreal Expos.

Sasaki, 35, bruised his right ribs when he slipped and fell after arriving back home Sunday from the Mariners' 12-game roadtrip.

"That's a first for me,'' Mariners first-year manager Bob Melvin said of Sasaki's off-the-field injury. "But it's just one of those things that happen.''

Melvin will go with the tandem of left-hander Arthur Rhodes and right-hander Jeff Nelson as his closers until he gets Sasaki back. Nelson has three saves this season.

Sasaki will be eligible to come off the disabled list June 21 in San Diego.

Sasaki wasn't available because of discomfort, for Tuesday night's game with the Expos, a 7-3 loss.

Melvin said the Mariners decided to disable Sasaki after "he had trouble sleeping last night.''

Sasaki, who has eight saves in 12 opportunities this season, was on the disabled list from April 23 to May 7 with a strained muscle in his lower right back.

Sasaki is 1-1 with a 4.12 ERA in 19 2/3 innings in 22 games this season.

He is the Mariners' all-time saves leader with 128, including 37 last season.

The Mariners recalled right-handed reliever Julio Mateo from Triple-A Tacoma for Wednesday night's game. Mateo was optioned to Tacoma before Tuesday night's game to make room for left-hander Matt White, a Rule 5 player who was acquired in a trade from Boston last week.

The Mariners must keep White on their roster for the entire 2003 season because he was selected by the Red Sox in the 2002 Rule 5 draft from the Cleveland Indians.