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Semrau: Suppan delivers like a true pro, even when he's not at his best

Dennis Semrau  —  4/09/2008 9:54 am

MILWAUKEE -- When it comes to playing the game the right way, Jeff Suppan is as old school as it gets.

From the way he handles himself in the clubhouse to his preparation between starts and his approach on game day, the 33-year-old right-handed starting pitcher is a true pro.

Suppan also knows that while his forte is pitching, being in the National League means he will have to help himself at the plate occasionally, too.

So while Suppan was saddled with a no-decision in his second start of the season on Tuesday, he still played a major role in Milwaukee winning its fourth straight game with a 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in 10 innings before a crowd of 27,717 at Miller Park.

"Suppan went out and threw the ball great even though I felt he didn't have his best stuff," said shortstop J.J. Hardy, who had three hits, including a leadoff single in the bottom of the 10th inning, and scored the winning run on Rickie Weeks' one-out single.

"Soup wasn't throwing as hard as he normally does. But he was hitting his spots and mixing up his pitches and keeping them off-balance. He threw really well."

Milwaukee manager Ned Yost also was impressed with Suppan's performance.

"He's been a quality pitcher for a long time. He's a big-money pitcher. He does elevate his game. He is throwing the ball extremely well right now," Yost said of Suppan, who is 1-0 after two starts and lowered his ERA to a miserly 2.02.

"But this was a great baseball game all the way around. The pitching on both sides was very good. Their starter (Johnny Cueto) was good as was ours. The defense was excellent. Prince (Fielder) made two great plays on Adam Dunn. Billy Hall made a great play. The pitching kind of led the game. There was not much offense because both pitching staffs were spectacular."

Suppan, though, did more than throw strikes and keep the Reds off-balance during his seven-inning stint, during which he allowed just one earned run on six hits, walked two and struck out one. He fielded his position well, finishing with two assists and two putouts, and was also perfect in his two sacrifice bunt attempts.

The first one set up the Brewers' run in the third inning. Suppan, who now has 48 sacrifice hits during his 14-plus seasons in the big leagues, moved Hardy, who opened the inning with a single, to second base. Hardy then scored on Jason Kendall's single to left.

"(Cueto) really threw the ball well. He's got great stuff so I was happy just to be able to get a pitch I could bunt because the first one I missed," Suppan said. "He has a lot of movement and velocity on it."

After Cincinnati tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the seventh inning on Corey Patterson's RBI single to right field, Hall hit his third home run of the season in the bottom of the seventh to put the Brewers back on top 2-1.

Yet if Suppan was disappointed when closer Eric Gagne came in and served up the game-tying home run to Patterson with two outs in the ninth inning to cost him a victory, he refused to show it.

"We won, that is the most important thing," said Suppan, who emphasized that it was important to keep things in perspective. "The key letter for us in the alphabet is the 'W' so any way that you can get it is why we play, to win."

Still, it was the second time in three save opportunities that Gagne has allowed a game-tying homer. That included a three-run blast by the Chicago Cubs' Kosuke Fukudome on Opening Day at Wrigley Field.

Yost, who was irritated by the question, refused to express any concern over the failure of his new closer.

"He got a pitch up a little bit over the plate," Yost said of Gagne's 2-2 pitch to Patterson. "Up to that point, he was throwing really well and threw the ball well after that. It happened. Nobody's perfect."

Yost pointed to the home run that Cueto served up to Hall as proof.

"Their kid threw a great ball game tonight and he got a ball up to Billy with two strikes," Yost said. "They didn't have any concerns with him, either. It's part of the game. The human factor and the human element play into it.

"You're gonna make mistakes but (Gagne) recovered from it. He got us through that inning. We battled back and won the game."

That made the Brewers 2-for-2 in extra inning games and kept them alone in first place in the National League's Central Division with a 6-1 record, and they proved again that they are a more mature and confident club this season.

"We've got a lot of heart," Hardy said. "We're not going to give up when the going gets a little tough. We've got a good team. We've got a good bullpen. We've got all the tools we need to win ballgames."

More importantly, the club has developed a winning attitude, too.

"We have a lot of confidence in our ability to play the game," Yost said. "There is not a guy in that clubhouse that doesn't come to the park every day expecting to win. That's a feeling that good clubs have."

Dennis Semrau  —  4/09/2008 9:54 am