Article:The Brew Haus - Sheets Tosses Five-Hit Shutout

Ben Sheets is showing the world just how meaningless Spring Training results sometimes are.

Sheets tossed a complete game, five-hit shutout as the Milwaukee Brewers completed a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants with a 7-0 win on Sunday. After stumbling through spring with a 9.56 ERA, Sheets has yet to give up a run this season, a span of 15 1/3 innings.



He struck out the side on 11 pitches in the first inning en route to eight total punch outs. It was only the second shutout of his career and first since May 29, 2001 when he did it in just his ninth career start.

For the second consecutive day, Gabe Kapler and Ryan Braun hit home runs, backing Sheets and helping the Brewers knock Giants' starter Barry Zito out of the game in the fifth.

J.J. Hardy opened the scoring in the second inning on an RBI double, Kapler added a sacrifice fly in the third, and Kendall added a sacrifice of his own in the fourth to make the score 3-0.

Braun added two more RBI hits in the seventh and eighth innings, finishing 3-for-5 with the three RBIs. He has hits in five of his last nine at bats since going hitless in his previous ten at bats.

There's not much you can say about Ben Sheets at this point, other than the fact that he better stay healthy. This could be a special year for he and the Brewers if he does. Looking ahead to the prospect of him continuing the streak, he will face the New York Mets next on Saturday.

Overall, this was a solid game for the Brewers -- great pitching, solid defense, and a relentless offense that now leads the league in runs scored with 40 in only six games.

The Brewers take a day off on Monday before sending Jeff Suppan to the mound on Tuesday to face off against Johnny Cueto and Cincinnati.

Miscellaneous Notes:
 * Tony Gwynn Jr. expects to be back for the Cincinnati series after missing the Giants series with a tight left hamstring.
 * Sheets' complete game was the 14th of his career.


 * Corey Kempf covers the Milwaukee Brewers beat for ArmchairGM. His other articles can be found here.