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Sheets, Cameron help propel Brewers past Cubs

Apr 30, 2008 - 5:08 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Ben Sheets and Mike Cameron made their returns a successful one.

Sheets pitched five solid innings as the Milwaukee Brewers posted a 10-7 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday.

Cameron had three hits, scored twice and had two RBI and Prince Fielder and Bill Hall each drove in two runs for Milwaukee, which has won three of four against Chicago this season.

Sheets (4-0), who allowed four runs and three hits and walked a career-high seven in five innings against the Cubs, was making his first start since leaving his last outing on April 18 with tightness in his right triceps muscle.

"I had no pain at all," Sheets said. "That's a good thing. But tonight, that's really as bad as I've pitched location-wise. Walking seven guys was awful. But our team really backed me up."

Sheets, who struck out two, earned a no-decision vs. Chicago on Opening Day - the only contest in which he didn't get a decision.

"Ben was rusty out there tonight, and he labored to go five innings," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "But it was nice to get a win for him. And more importantly, he's physically all right."

"Sheets didn't have his best command," Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee said. "But he still made pitches when he needed to. We got to him a little bit. But basically he did a good job."

After David Riske pitched a scoreless sixth, Salomon Torres surrendered a three-run double to Mike Fontenot in the seventh inning to cut the Cubs' deficit to 9-7 before getting out of the frame.

Guillermo Mota hurled the eighth before Eric Gagne pitched around two baserunners in the ninth for his eighth save.

With the score tied at 4-4 in the fifth, Hall's RBI single drove in Corey Hart from third to give Milwaukee the lead. With the Brewers leading, 6-4, in the seventh, a bases-loaded walk to Jason Kendall from Cubs reliever Michael Wuertz put the visitors up by three before Cameron's two-run single to right field made it 9-4.

"We've got to do a better job in the middle (relief) before we get to our short people," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "That's been a problem now for a while."

The base hit capped off an excellent night for Cameron, who played his first game after serving a 25-game suspension from Major League Baseball for using amphetamines.

"I had jitters until I got into the batter's box for the first time," Cameron said. "I was lucky to get a good pitch to hit right away and put a good swing on it."

The three-time Gold Glove outfielder was on base four times and scored in the first and third innings on sacrifice flies by Fielder.

"It's nice to have him (Cameron) back in our lineup," Yost said. "Our offense broke out tonight and he was a big part of it."

Jason Marquis (1-1) gave up five runs, 10 hits and a walk in five innings for Chicago, which has dropped four of five.

"I didn't make pitches when I needed to," Marquis said. "It seemed they jumped on every mistake I made. I had good movement on my ball, but I just wasn't able to keep it down consistently like I wanted to."

Hall, Hart and J.J. Hardy each had three hits for the Brewers, who pounded out a season-high 17 and saw every regular position player get at least one base hit. Hardy's run-scoring single in the eighth finished the scoring.

Lee hit his eighth homer, a solo shot in the third, for Chicago.