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Sheets shelled as Brewers lose ground to Cubs

Sep 15, 2007 - 3:50 AM MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- With his team fighting to stay in the playoff race, Milwaukee Brewers ace Ben Sheets picked a bad time to have his worst outing of the season.

Sheets, who had won eight of his last nine decisions, allowed six hits - including Adam Dunn's 39th home run - in just three innings as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Brewers, 6-5, on Friday.

Reds rookie starter Tom Shearn (3-0) limited the Brewers to just four hits over 6 2/3 innings as Milwaukee (74-72) dropped to 1 1/2 games behind the Chicago Cubs (76-71) in the National League Central.

Prince Fielder hit his National League-leading 45th home run and tied the club's single-season long ball record with the blast, but it was not enough for the Brewers, who lost for the third time in four games.

"I don't have any pressure," Fielder said of the pennant race. "I'm actually having fun. This is why you play. To me, there's no pressure."

The Reds jumped all over Sheets (12-5) in the first inning. Norris Hopper led off with a single and Jeff Keppinger walked. The Reds executed a double steal with Ken Griffey Jr. up, and after the Reds right fielder fouled out, Brandon Phillips drove in both runners with a single to left-center.

Dunn followed with a two-run home run down the right field line, driving in his 102nd and 103rd runs of the season, setting a new career high in the process.

"(Shearn) said thanks for giving him a four-run lead, and I told him I knew he was pitching, so we needed it," Dunn said, jokingly.

The Reds extended their lead to 5-0 when Phillips' sacrifice fly scored Hopper in the second.

"They jumped on me pretty early," Sheets said. "Four runs in the first pretty much dooms you. We scored five runs. This time of year, I feel like that should be enough. I need to find a way to pitch better."

Shearn held the Brewers hitless until the third inning when Rickie Weeks led off with a double. With two outs, Fielder homered to center, extending his hitting streak to 12 games and tying Richie Sexson (2001 and 2003) and Gorman Thomas (1979) for the franchise single-season record.

The Brewers trimmed the lead to 5-3 in the seventh on Johnny Estrada's RBI single, but reliever Mitch Stetter, a September call-up, gave that run back in the eighth. Dunn doubled, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Edwin Encarnacion's sacrifice fly.

"(Runs) keep coming in bunches every time I step on the mound," said Shearn, who has watched his team score 15 first-inning runs in his four starts. "It's unbelievable. I'm just trying not to give up as many as we score."

Shearn, who allowed three runs on four hits in two innings vs. the Brewers Sunday in relief, became the first Reds starting pitcher to begin his career with three straight victories since Tom Browning did so in his first two seasons in 1984-1985. The righthander retired the first nine batters he faced and finished with four strikeouts.

"He pitched extremely well," Reds interim manager Pete Mackanin said. "He kept us in the game. He got a lead and held onto it. Golly, four hits against a first-place team - that's a hell of an outing."

Todd Coffey got the first out in the seventh, Eddie Guardado got three outs before Bill Bray got the last five outs for his first save despite yielding a two-run homer to Mike Rivera with two outs in the ninth.

Sheets, who has never won more than 12 games in a season, walked three, and, along with his catcher Estrada, surrendered five stolen bases in the first two innings.

"Johnny made a couple of nice throws; it's mostly Benny," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "Benny's a little slow to the plate and those guys are very, very quick and they get great reads and they are tough to throw out."

Lefthander Chris Capuano, an All-Star in 2006 but banished to the bullpen after losing 12 consecutive decisions, kept the Brewers close with four strikeouts and two hits allowed in four shutout innings in relief of Sheets.