St. Louis Cardinals
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Sheets, Brewers start strongApril 13th, 2008
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We knew the Milwaukee Brewers were going to score a lot of runs. What we weren’t sure about was how well their pitching staff would do.
Two weeks into the season, things are looking pretty good as the Brew Crew prepares for this week’s NL Central showdown with division leader St. Louis.
Milwaukee (8-4) began the season 5-1 before dropping two of three to Cincinnati to close its opening homestand. The Brewers responded by taking two of three in a weekend series with the New York Mets at Shea Stadium.
As they enter this week’s three-game set with the Cardinals, the Brewers are averaging better than five runs per game - good for third in the National League. They sit just a game behind the Cardinals, who are off to a suprisingly strong start.
The story to Milwaukee’s start has been its pitching, namely that of Ben Sheets. The seven-year vet is 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA, second best among NL starters. His 23 innings rank third in the NL, and his 15 1/3-inning scoreless streak is the sixth longest such streak in franchise history. He is off to the best start of his career, evidenced by his complete game shutout of the punchless San Francisco Giants in his second start of the season. It was just the second shutout of his career.