Major League Baseball
Padres 5, Brewers 0
Major League Baseball

Padres 5, Brewers 0

Published May. 3, 2012 3:34 a.m. ET

It was almost as if Jeff Suppan had never been away from the majors.

Suppan threw five solid innings to win his first game since 2010, leading the San Diego Padres to a 5-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday.

The 37-year-old Suppan made his first major league appearance since he won on Oct. 3, 2010 and it was a success.

''I had a lot of emotions coming into the game,'' Suppan said. ''I had a lot of good nerves. My job was to take those emotions, the nerves and kind of organize them and get my butterflies to fly in formation and pitch a game.''

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Suppan, called up from Triple-A Tucson to start in place of the injured Cory Luebke, won for the first time since a 6-1 victory over Colorado as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals on the final day of the 2010 regular season.

He limited the Brewers to four singles, walked two and struck out two as he combined with three relievers for the shutout.

''Isn't that great? Isn't that wonderful?'' Padres manager Bud Black said. ''When a guy keeps wanting to play and compete, and gets an opportunity to get back to the big leagues and win a major league game, it's wonderful. It's a great story.''

Milwaukee's Ryan Braun, the reigning NL MVP, left the game in the sixth inning with a right Achilles tendon strain. Braun said he hurt it sliding into second base in Tuesday night's game.

''It's just a little sore,'' Braun said. ''We'll see how it feels (Thursday).''

The Brewers are off on Thursday before starting a three-game series on Friday at San Francisco.

Suppan, who spent the entire 2011 season with Kansas City's Triple-A affiliate Omaha, gave up consecutive, one-out singles to Corey Hart and Jonathan Lucroy in both the second and fourth innings. The Brewers loaded the bases in both innings, but Suppan escaped each time.

In the second, Suppan struck out Yovani Gallardo (1-3) to end the inning, Suppan got Travis Ishikawa to hit into a double play to get out of the fourth inning.

''I was trying not to think about anything,'' Suppan said. ''Leading into the start, I figured it wouldn't give me the best chance to win, so I was just trying to focus and go out and follow the game plan.''

Suppan got the start in place of Luebke, who went on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with a strained left elbow.

''It didn't surprise me at all,'' Braun said about Suppan, who played for Milwaukee for four seasons. ''He's had plenty of success. It's disappointing. It'd be nice if we could have gotten to him.''

Cameron Maybin and Jose Guzman each drove in two runs as the Padres won their first series of the season by taking two of three from Milwaukee. The Brewers have lost five of seven.

The Padres threw their second straight shutout, the first time since July 2-3, 2010, against Houston. San Diego beat the Brewers 2-0 on Tuesday night.

Ernesto Frieri pitched the sixth, Luke Gregerson threw two innings and rookie Dale Thayer pitched the ninth to complete the shutout.

''For some reason, we haven't been able to get the big hit,'' Gallardo said. ''It just seems like we are not swinging the bats well. It's a struggle.''

Gallardo allowed three runs on seven hits over six innings. He struck out four and walked four.

With one out in the third, Mark Kotsay doubled in a run. After San Diego loaded the bases with two outs, Maybin lined a two-run single to right field. The Padres loaded the bases again before Gallardo retired Andy Parrino on a fly out.

Guzman added a pinch-hit, two-run double in the eighth off Vinnie Chulk.

Notes: Suppan, who played for Milwaukee from 2007-10, has a 13-2 record against the Brewers, winning his last seven decisions. ... Brewers 1B Mat Gamel has a torn ligament in his knee and could miss the rest of the season. Gamel was injured Tuesday night chasing a popup ... To make room for Suppan on the 40-man roster, the Padres moved IF/OF Kyle Blanks (strained left shoulder) from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL. . Suppan is the oldest San Diego starting pitcher since Greg Maddux, 42, made 28 starts in 2008. . San Diego RHP Anthony Bass (1-3, 2.30 ERA) will face RHP Josh Johnson (0-3, 5.34) in the opener of a three-game series Friday night at home against Miami. ... Brewers RHP Zack Greinke (3-1, 3.94) faces RHP Tim Lincecum (2-2, 5.74) Friday night at San Francisco in the first of three games.

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