Capuano a one man wrecking crew

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Capuano a one-man wrecking crew
Hurler tosses seven scoreless innings, drives in two
By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com


DENVER -- The Brewers' no-hit bid at Coors Field lasted all of one inning Wednesday night. That didn't stop Lyle Overbay from treating it like one.
"I didn't want to jinx anything by even looking at the scoreboard," the Brewers first baseman said. "A shutout, here? I didn't even want to think about it. That doesn't happen often."

It happened Wednesday. Chris Capuano pitched seven shutout innings and relievers Dana Eveland, Jose Capellan and Derrick Turnbow finished off the seventh shutout by a Rockies opponent in the 11-year history of Coors Field.

And how about this? Capuano supplied all the offense with a two-out, two-run single, leading the team to a 2-0 win and a much-needed boost heading into a tough four-game series at Houston.

"It found a hole," Capuano (13-8) said of his second-inning single, one of just three hits off Rockies starter Jamey Wright (6-14). "I don't know how much skill was involved in that."

There was plenty of skill involved in his pitching performance. Capuano snapped a personal two-game losing streak and the Brewers improved to 17-9 in his starts while winning their third straight road series.

The key? Capuano limited the Rockies to six hits and struck out eight without walking a single batter. In each of his last two starts, he issued four walks.

"It's paramount, especially in this ballpark," manager Ned Yost said. "The last thing you want to do in this ballpark is walk guys because this is a big-inning ballpark. Things can happen fast and you don't want to compound it by walking guys."

Capuano won for the first time since the end of his seven-game winning streak. He capped that run with an eight-inning, one-run gem against San Francisco on July 31, but in two subsequent starts, he had a 6.75 ERA.

"I tried to keep myself really calm in my head," Capuano said. "The last two outings, I have been kind of overly aggressive with my mind and my body, and that can be counter-productive as a pitcher. I tried to take a step back and tried to not think about too much out there."

Said Yost: "He's got the stuff to pitch like this. The whole key for him is just to be aggressive in the strike zone with his stuff, and he did that tonight."

Actually, "he did it all tonight," Yost said.

A wild pitch by Wright left runners at second and third in the second inning with one out. Wright retired Corey Hart on a foul popup, then he intentionally walked No. 8 hitter Chad Moeller to face Capuano, who came in with a .126 career batting average. Capuano beat the percentages, grounding a go-ahead single through the hole between first and second bases to extend the hitting streak by Brewers starters to four games, matching a franchise record set in 1969 by the Seattle Pilots' staff.

"Anybody up there with a bat is a threat," said Wright, a former Brewers starter. "I treat them all like hitters. It wasn't a bad pitch. It was a changeup he was out in front of. I mean, if I had to take that pitch back, I don't know if I would have. Nine times out of 10, he would have popped that ball up or swung and missed or hit it right to the second baseman."

Wright surrendered only one more hit and pitched through the seventh inning. Still, he suffered his sixth loss in seven decisions.

Capuano's biggest jam came in the fourth, when he struck out Dustan Mohr with a runner at third base. He got some help from the Rockies in the seventh when Garrett Atkins was caught in a rundown between third base and home after a Todd Greene single off the left-field wall. Carlos Lee relayed to Bill Hall, who threw to third baseman Russell Branyan, who ran down Atkins for the second out of the inning.

"That was the biggest play of the game, no doubt," Capuano said. "That was some really good defense, and it helped me through that inning."

Eveland recorded two outs in the eighth before surrendering a pair of singles, but Capellan came on and escaped the jam. Turnbow pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his second save in as many nights and his 26th this season.

It was the fourth shutout by Brewers pitchers in 2005, and it marked the second time this season and the seventh time in history that the Rockies were blanked at Coors Field. The Washington Nationals did it last week with four pitchers chipping in, and the previous five were all accomplished by three pitchers.

"That's not bad, huh?" Eveland asked of the rare shutout. "Pretty darn good combined effort."

With center fielder Brady Clark still sidelined by bruised ribs, the Brewers placed him on the 15-day disabled list after the game and recalled slugging first baseman Prince Fielder for his second tour of duty with the team. He will provided a left-handed bat off the bench in Houston, where the Brewers begin a key series against Roger Clemens on Thursday night.

They're hoping the series win in Colorado is a springboard.

"That's a series we had to win," Overbay said.

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Had to do it against the Rockies .