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Suppan sharp as Brewers win seventh straight

Aug 13, 2008 - 5:56 AM By Tim Powers PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- Jeff Suppan pitched eight solid innings and Prince Fielder hit a three-run blast to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 5-2 triumph over the San Diego Padres in the opener of a three-game series on Monday.

Mike Cameron also homered for the Brewers, who have outscored their opponents, 42-11, en route to winning seven straight games.

Suppan (8-7) allowed two runs and four hits, striking out three and walking two, to claim his third consecutive victory. The 33-year-old righthander has yielded five earned runs in 21 innings for a 2.14 ERA.

"I'm the type of person that isn't looking back," Suppan said. "I'm focused on this game right now. You can always look back and find trends. I'm able to focus on what I need to do in each game."

Salomon Torres worked a scoreless ninth to convert his 23 save in 27 chances.

"That was a really good one tonight," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "(Suppan) just kept making pitches. It was a great start. He adjusted real quick and got right back to banging strikes. He's just throwing the ball well right now."

San Diego got an early lead when Kevin Kouzmanoff belted his 18th home run, a solo shot, to build a 1-0 advantage for the Padres, whose 37 homers since the All-Star break lead the National League.

Cameron's third-inning blast off San Diego starter Cha Seung Baek - his 19th - evened the score at 1-1.

Fielder put the Brewers in front for good in the following frame. After J.J. Hardy walked and Gabe Kapler singled, Fielder lifted his 27th homer into the right field stands to open a 4-1 cushion.

"I'm just trying to hit it hard on the barrell," Fielder said. "Fortunately for us tonight, I was able to hit it pretty hard. Usually we're just settling for being mediocre (on the road). Now, we're just trying to focus on winning every game."

San Diego's Jody Gerut cut the deficit to 4-2 with a solo homer in the sixth.

"We hit some balls hard early in the game, but (Suppan) kept the ball in the park," Padres manager Bud Black said. "That's his game, he just kept us off balance."

"Prince is one of those guys that when he hits it, it's going to go," Cameron said. "The man has got a lot of power. Suppan pitched great and it turns out he got a big win for us in the first game of a series."

Milwaukee tacked on an insurance run in the seventh when Kapler's infield single allowed Suppan to cross the plate with the game's final run.

Baek (4-6), who has suffered the loss in all six of his starts at Petco Park, gave up five runs over six innings. The South Korean righthander struck out three and walked four.

"Cha Seung's stuff was good, but I think he'd probably want to have the pitch back to Fielder," Black said. "He threw pitches into the seventh inning, but he just got outpitched a little by Suppan."