CC Sabathia walked off the mound after the sixth inning with a fist pump and a shout.

Sure, he was excited about getting out of a problematic inning in which he gave up a pair of runs, but the public demonstration was more a release of pent-up emotions than anything else.

"I was excited to get the out, but that was just letting out everything from the past few days," Sabathia said. "(It was) the anticipation of getting there on the mound, the frustration of five walks, not being able to throw the ball where I wanted to. It was just a release."

After a whirlwind weekend that brought Sabathia to Milwaukee in a trade, the hulking left-hander made his Brewers debut against Colorado before a capacity crowd at Miller Park.

It wasn't the dominant performance some had hoped for -- Sabathia gave up three runs (two earned) and five hits, walked vie and struck out five in six innings -- but it was all the team needed in a 7-3 victory over the Rockies.

"He did what we had asked him to do," Yost said. "He gave us six strong innings and left with the lead.

"I thought that was a great start for him."

The left-hander came out somewhat slow, issuing a lead-off walk to Willy Taveras and a two-out free pass to Garrett Atkins before striking out Ryan Spilborghs to end the inning.

Sabathia and Yost both attributed the somewhat erratic start to the Opening Day-like nature surrounding the game.

"All these guys are creatures of routine," Yost said. "Something like this, as much fun as it is for the fans -- and we were excited, too, don't get me wrong -- but it definitely adds more to the game than we are normally accustomed to in the middle of the season."

Sabathia agreed. He didn't call it nervousness, but admitted to feeling a little more anxious and excited than he has for previous starts.

"I was more amped up," he said. "Usually when I get like that, I have a tendency to throw a lot of balls and miss on my fastball.

"I had a bunch of emotions going through my head. Just from the fans and the electricity they brought to the stadium ... I think it just got me a little too excited. I rushed through my bullpen. I was just ready to get to the game and get things going."

Sabathia worked himself into a jam in the fourth, loading the bases on an error by J.J. Hardy. Jayson Nix put the Rockies' first run on the board when he hit into a double play and Sabathia got out of the inning on Omar Quintanilla's ground out to first.

Two innings later, Sabathia found himself in trouble again. Matt Holliday singled to open the inning and Atkins and Spilborghs each drew walks to load the bases. Yorvit Torrealba doubled to make it 4-3, sending catcher Jason Kendall to the mound.

Sabathia was able to work out of the inning by snagging Nix's line drive for a double play that caught pinch-runner Scott Podsednik trying to tag up at third base. Sabathia walked Quintanilla before striking out pinch-hitter Brad Hawpe to end the inning.

Kendall's visit, Sabathia said, as well as his presence behind the plate made all the difference.

"He did a lot," Sabathia said. "Coming out in the sixth inning and keeping it light helped. He saw that I was getting a little too riled up and that I was overthrowing."

Sabathia was done for the night after that inning. Yost had considered letting him go back out for the seventh, but after 97 pitches and the Brewers in the lead, the manager decided to let the bullpen take over. Sabathia, as the new guy, decided it wasn't his place to argue.

"Maybe a couple weeks from now I'll be lobbying to come back out," Sabathia joked afterwards. "I don't know Ned all that well yet."

Many of Sabathia's eight losses with the Indians were marked by poor run support. The Brewers made sure that wasn't the case Tuesday. Ryan Braun staked Sabathia to a 3-0 lead with a first-inning home run.

"It was important, it was really important," Braun said of the early lead. "Everybody came out today with a little bit of nervous excitement. It was important to get ahead and let him relax a little bit."

Rickie Weeks went 3 for 4 with three runs and Bill Hall reached twice (single and fielder's choice) with 2 RBI. Sabathia went hitless in two at-bats, lowering his career average to .286.

"I'll spend some extra time in the cage, try to hit some balls hard and stop trying to go deep every time," Sabathia said.

While the fans were focused on the action on the field, the players couldn't help but notice the buzz in the stands. The rare Tuesday-night sellout -- Milwaukee's 16th full house of the season -- brought a playoff-like vibe to Miller Park.

"Talk about an unbelievable atmosphere," Kendall said. "It was very, very cool. I think everybody on this team kind of got goose bumps."

The experience is one that Sabathia, who the Brewers hope will lead to more nights like Tuesday, wasn't expecting.

"It's exceeding anything I could have imagined," he said. "(David) Riske told me that the fans have been great and the crowds are unbelievable, but I didn't expect anything like this. This has been so much fun.

"I feel like I came into the perfect situation; I don't think there's any other place I'd rather be right now but here."