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Capuano shuts down Nationals

May 8, 2007 - 3:49 AM MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- Chris Capuano kept the major leagues' best team rolling and grabbed a little history in the process.

Capuano took a shutout into the ninth inning and Geoff Jenkins homered as the Milwaukee Brewers continued to roll with a 3-0 victory over the Washington Nationals in the opener of a three-game series.

Francisco Cordero bailed out Capuano in the ninth for his 13th save in 13 chances for the Brewers (22-10), who have won eight of their last nine games to extend the major leagues' best record.

"It's somebody different every single night," Yost said. "The pitching has been great and everybody is toting their own little load. That's what good teams do. They don't rely on one or two good players. Everybody takes turns and they play as a team."

Capuano, who left his last start with a leg injury, yielded seven hits and no walks while posting a season-high nine strikeouts to become the third Milwaukee Brewers pitcher all-time to start 5-0. Bill Wegman started 6-0 in 1994 and Chuck Porter started 5-0 in 1984.

"I had some games early where I didn't pitch real deep and the bullpen pitched great and we got a lot of hits," Capuano said. "The last couple of games, I've felt better, and it's always nice to not have any losses yet. You'd like to stay right here and keep it going."

Capuano suffered a right calf contusion after being struck on a comebacker by St. Louis' Aaron Miles on Wednesday. He left the game after three innings and used the extra time off to treat both the contusion and what he described as a tired pitching shoulder.

The lefthander, who extended his scoreless inning streak to 16, cruised through three innings, retired Dmitri Young to get out of a first-and-second base jam in the fourth and survived a two-out double by Ryan Zimmerman in the sixth.

"In a couple situations, I fell behind, but I was fortunate for the most part to get those guys," Capuano said. "I was getting in there on strike one and it's important to establish the count in your favor and be the aggressor out there."

Capuano was eyeing his third career shutout until yielding two singles in the ninth, but Cordero entered and retired all three batters to complete the shutout.

"We were hoping to send (Capuano) out there and give everyone the night off," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "He was throwing so well, but Frankie came in and closed it out for us. It was a no-brainer after the first two batters got on."

Jenkins hit a three-run homer in the second inning - his sixth of the season - against Washington rookie starter Matt Chico (2-4). Jenkins, part of a three-man platoon with Kevin Mench and Corey Hart, was making his first start against a lefthander this season.

"It feels great, obviously, to get in there and make something happen," Jenkins said. "Luckily, we didn't need any more. 'Cappy' did such a great job on the mound, we didn't need too much."

Bill Hall opened the frame with a base hit but was caught stealing. Johnny Estrada and Mench then singled before Jenkins drilled a 1-0 offering from Chico over the center field wall.

Chico pitched well in defeat, yielding just the three runs and eight hits in a season-best seven innings. He walked one and struck out five.

"I just went out there and was more relaxed," Chico said. "I talked with (teammate) Shawn Hill, and he said just to go out and have fun and relax and let the defense do the rest."

J.J. Hardy singled in the fifth to increase his career-high hitting streak to 18 games for Milwaukee, which is 7-1 in this 10-game homestand.