Another Golden Performance by Sheets

Ben Sheets won’t compare winning a gold medal to shutting down the Atlanta Braves.

He did admit that Milwaukee’s 5-0 victory over Atlanta on Thursday night was one he’ll always remember.

“We’re very excited when we do something like that,” the Olympic hero said. “You look around, and everybody’s throwing the ball well. It motivates you. It motivated me to want to go out and do as well as these guys were. We’re good-natured competitors.”

Sheets became the latest pitcher to shut down Atlanta, pitching six shutout innings for his second straight win.

The Brewers won two of three for their first series win over Atlanta.

Sheets (2-2) gave up six hits and walked four to win his second straight start since being recalled from the minors.

Tyler Houston and Jeffrey Hammonds hit two-run doubles in the third inning against John Burkett (1-4).

“It was a horrible inning,” Burkett said. “I walked the pitcher to lead off the inning, and you can’t do that. The rest of the game was satisfying, but that one inning--you don’t know what happened.”

Burkett, coming off his first shutout in five years in a 9-0 win at Arizona last Friday, gave up four runs, seven hits and three walks in seven innings.

Richie Sexson’s fifth homer, a solo shot in the eighth off reliever Kerry Ligtenberg, put the Brewers up, 5-0.

Atlanta is hitting only .218 at Turner Field and has yet to score more than four runs at home. The Braves’ .236 team average is 14th in the NL.

They had runners on first and second with two out in the eighth before Milwaukee brought David Weathers in to replace Chad Fox.

Weathers forced Marcus Giles to fly out to center and end the threat.

Sheets, who shut out Cuba to win the Olympic gold medal for the United States in Sydney, got help from his defense in the third inning.

With a runner on first and one out, left fielder Devon White robbed Chipper Jones of a homer with a leaping catch.

“You got a guy who’s had seven Gold Gloves up there, so he’s made those plays a lot of times,” Milwaukee Manager Davey Lopes said. “Those are the kinds of plays you’ve got to have to be successful.”