For several weeks, Ned Yost did his best to maintain suspense and intrigue.

The Brewers manager waited until the bulk of spring training had evaporated into the Arizona desert before officially naming Ben Sheets as the starting pitcher for opening day.

From the moment the first exhibition assignments were revealed, anyone with a calendar and half a clue could figure out the rotation and Sheets' place in it, but Yost acted like things weren't determined and steadfastly cautioned reporters about the dangers of speculation and hinted that Claudio Vargas could get the plum assignment.

Toward the end of a press conference the day before the season opener, Yost was asked to unveil his starting lineup for the game. He rolled through the first eight players, got to the pitcher's spot and said "Suppan," a reference to the veteran right-hander who signed as a free agent on Christmas Eve.

For a fraction of a second, the room went silent and a trace of panic began to rise. Had something happened to Sheets? Was this routine interview session about to become headline news? The answer came quickly. Yost, making a small April Fool's joke, cracked a smile and laughter filled the room.

A day later, Sheets took the mound to make his team-record fifth opening day start and turned in one of the more spectacular performances of his career. The 28-year-old right-hander, bothered by injuries the past two seasons, used a heavy fastball and knee-buckling curve to limit Los Angeles to two hits in a 7-1 Milwaukee victory Monday afternoon at Miller Park.

On a day when the Brewers and the baseball gods gave their manager plenty of reasons to smile -- timely hitting, aggressive baserunning, solid defense, some favorable calls from plate umpire Gerry Davis and a shaky outing by Dodgers starter Derek Lowe -- Yost cited one positive development above all others.

"I'm happy finally, hopefully, that now I don't have to continue answering questions about Ben Sheets' health," he said. "I think we all saw for ourselves today."

After watching his ace throw 104 pitches (65 strikes, 39 balls) en route to his 12th complete game, Yost will need to take acting classes between now and next spring to convince anyone that a pitcher not wearing No. 15 will get the ball for any Brewers' opener when Sheets is available for duty.

A crowd of 45,341 -- the second-largest in Miller Park history -- saw Sheets breeze through a 1-2-3 first inning with ease that masked his nervousness.

"It's opening day -- I had a sumo wrestler wrestling in my belly," said Sheets, who has struggled in the opening inning for much of his career.

In the second inning, Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent jumped ahead in the count, 3-1, connected on a fastball and belted a 407-foot homer that centerfielder Bill Hall almost brought back into the park.

"That was a chest-high fastball on 3-1," Brewers catcher Johnny Estrada said. "I'll take Ben on that matchup nine out of 10 times. He just left one up and Jeff Kent is a veteran hitter and he got good wood on it."

Sheets said the home run settled him down. "The first inning was a lot of emotions out there," he said. "I was trying to find that groove. You can't pitch on that kind of emotion the whole game."

After Kent's homer, Sheets retired the next 22 men in order. "That lineup over there is very tough; very talented," he said. "I think that's what helped. I had to stay focused throughout that whole lineup. Sometimes, when the lineup isn't that good, you might lose a little focus. You don't lose it with them guys. They can hit."

The Dodgers didn't get their second hit until one out in the ninth, when former Brewers outfielder Brady Clark, acquired for Elmer Dessens at the end of camp, unleashed his compact swing on an inside fastball and sent a double to left field.

"Brady is one of the only guys who can hit that inside pitch and keep it fair," said Brewers bullpen coach Bill Castro, who threw to Clark often during batting practice over the past few years. "That ball was way inside."

Working from the stretch for the first time, which was as big a concern in the dugout as the advancing pitch count that had Derrick Turnbow heating up in the bullpen, Sheets retired Juan Pierre and Russell Martin on flyouts to celebrated the end of the 2-hour 11-minute game by hugging Estrada.

"This isn't something that we're all jumping up and saying ‘Boy, Benny really threw good today.'" Yost said. "This is kind of what we expect of Benny a little bit; to be able to come out and pitch good ballgames."

That's what Sheets plans to do; hopefully upwards of 30 more times this season.

"I feel like it's a non-issue, you know?" Sheets said, referring to his injury problems. "I feel like I finished last year healthy and kind of got by that hurdle. I'd rather stick more to talking about pitching and what we do, than me talking about whether I'm going to get hurt tomorrow tripping on a roller skate."