But with Colorado ace Ubaldo Jimenez dealing; many of Milwaukee's 11 hits went for naught in a season-opening loss to the Rockies at Miller Park.
"Rickie got on base three times, Gomez on four times, Braun 2-for-4 and Prince with a couple of hits, you figure you'd score more runs," said manager Ken Macha.
The right-hander brought power from the get-go, consistently hitting between 95-98 with his fastball and finding a way to work out of just about any jam. Three times, he squelched rallies with strikeouts and didn't allow a run until Ryan Braun doubled in Carlos Gomez with two outs in the fifth inning.
The Brewers, though, mounted a late comeback. Carlos Gomez hit a two-out solo shot in the seventh and the Brewers loaded the bases before Casey McGehee lined out to Brad Hawpe in right.
In the ninth, Weeks led off by getting plunked by Rafael Betancourt and advanced on a wild pitch. Gomez followed with a doubleto right. Rayn Braun scored Weeks with a sacrifice fly that sent Gomez to third and brought Prince Fielder -- representing the tying run -- to the plate.
Fielder, though, ripped a line drive right into the glove of Troy Tulowitzki and Jim Edmonds was retired in similar fashion by Clint Barmes to end the threat.
"Bottom line, we left 11 runners on base," said Macha. "I thought we played well, though. We swung the bats pretty well.
Under the lights: Yovani Gallardo pitched well in his first Opening Day start, allowing three earned runs on seven hits in seven innings of work. He struck out five, walked two and gave up a solo home run to Ian Stewart on a 3-0 count in the second inning.
"There's not much I can say about it," Gallardo said. "I didn't think he was going to swing so I let my guard down a little bit. I left the ball up over the plate, trying to get a strike and he hit it over the fence."
Gallardo wasn't particularly sharp in the early goings and saw his pitch count rise over the first few innings but settled in, finishing with 104 pitches -- 62 for strikes.
"My mechanics got a little off and I started trying to do too much," Gallardo said. "But I was able to recover."
Gallardo's biggest problems came in the fourth when the Rockies scored a run without getting a hit.
Todd Helton opened the inning by reaching on an error by Casey McGehee. Troy Tulowitzki followed with a flyout to center and Gallardo walked Brad Hawpe.
Stewart scored Helton with a sac fly and Clint Barmes ended the inning by grounding into a fielder's choice.
"It's just one of those things," Gallardo said. "That whole inning was very frustrating."
Considering the problems he had with starting pitching last season, Macha was happy with Gallardo's effort.
"He gave us 100 pitches and seven innings," Macha said. "I'll take that any day."
Impressive debut: Carlos Gomez, in his first game since being acquired in an off-season trade with Minnesota, put on a display Monday.
The young, speedy centerfielder tied a career-high with four hits in five trips, stealing a base and belting a home run in the seventh that cut the lead to 4-2.
"He was pretty good," Macha said.
Turning the tables: Much has been made about Gomez's speed and need to bunt more often. Ryan Braun, meanwhile, is the power guy. So it was a little surprising, to say the least, that Braun followed Gomez's home run with a two-out bunt.
"That's very intellegent baseball," Macha said.
Still got it: After getting off to a slow start, veteran outfielder Jim Edmonds showed why he was added to the roster. Edmonds, starting in place of Corey Hart, struck out his first two times up but singled in the sixth and drew a key walk to load the bases in the seventh inning against left-hander Randy Flores.
"His bats went better as the day went on," Macha said. "The second time out, he chased a pitch outside the zone but he got better as the day went on."
Tomorrow: Lefty Randy Wolf makes his Brewers debut when Milwaukee faces the Rockies in game two of this season opening, three-game set. Lefty Greg Smith will start for Colorado. The game will be broadcast locally on WMLW-TV.
Notes: The crowd of 45,808 was the second-largest crowd in Miller Park history and the largest ever for a home opener at the 10-year-old stadium ... It was the first Opening Day played with the roof and panels open ... The Brewers are 23-18-1 all-time in season openers ... Colorado has won seven in a row against Milwaukee.
