Are the Milwaukee Brewers starting to see the old Eric Gagne now? Not the Gagne from the first two months of this season but the version who dominated the talk a few years back when the subject of closers came up?

Time will tell, but after two one-inning stints since his return from the disabled list, including a scoreless ninth Saturday night that brought him a personal victory, both Gagne and manager Ned Yost are encouraged.

"He's throwing with much more command down in the (strike) zone,'' Yost said. "His changeup has much more action on it.''

Gagne missed five weeks because of some weakness in his right rotator cuff before returning from the disabled list last Monday in Arizona. The Brewers are treading lightly with Gagne, whose five blown saves through late May made much more noise than his 10 saves and cost him his closer's job to Salomon Torres. Yost is not inclined to use him in back-to-back game situations at this point.

"It's more a day-to-day thing,'' Gagne said. "It's a work in progress. I have to really get on it to make sure my shoulder is strong.''

Like teammate J.J. Hardy, Gagne praises the Brewers for being patient with his injury. Yost had Hardy sit down for five games to rest an ailing left shoulder and the Brewers shortstop has been on a tear ever since, a stretch that included a 16-game hitting streak that ended Saturday and picked up Sunday with a two-run homer in the first inning.

"I really appreciate that they gave me a chance to really get healthy,'' Gagne said. "Not many teams can afford to do that but we have a lot of depth in the bullpen and could afford to go slow. …

"You don't focus on one week, you focus on the playoffs. We want to stay fresh for the playoffs.''