MILWAUKEE — Jose Rijo made up for bad outings in his last two starts and the Reds bullpen atoned for blowing an eight-run lead in their last game by beating the Brewers 5-0 Monday night.

        “One thing that really helps is that you believe in yourself,” said Rijo. “You don't give the hitters as much credit as they think they have.”

        Walks got Rijo in trouble in the second and fifth, and a single by Jeffrey Hammonds and a double by Richie Sexon in the third had runners in scoring position, but each time he worked out of the jam.

        “Pitching is not throwing 120 pitches and make 120 great pitches,” Rijo said. “It's just throw the 10 pitches or five pitches in key situations where you need to. And that's what I'm doing right now.”

        Rijo (3-1) made his fifth start and 18th appearance since his return to baseball on Aug. 17, 2001. He had five surgeries on his right elbow in a span of six years away from the game.

        “Jose Rijo shut us down,” Brewers manager Jerry Royster said after Milwaukee was shut out for the third time this season. “We swung at a lot of bad pitches. He kept us off-balance pretty good.”

        Reliever Jim Brower began the sixth with a 4-0 lead. Brower, who has not allowed a run in his last four games, pitched two scoreless innings and struck out five.

        Reds right-handed reliever Scott Sullivan took over to start the eighth, but had to leave the game three batters later when Richie Sexson hit a one-hopper than caught Sullivan just above the right elbow.

        “I think I'll be fine,” Sullivan said. “I just lost some strength in my forearm and my hand strength.”

        Jose Cabrera (1-4) made an emergency start for Milwaukee, the first of his four-year career. The right-handed reliever made 167 relief appearances before starting for Nick Neugebauer, who has a mild rotator cuff strain in his right shoulder.

        “When Neugebauer went down, we were in trouble,” Royster said.

        Cabrera said he couldn't believe it when bullpen coach Bill Castro told him to get ready 15 minutes before the start of the game. He gave up all five runs in 4 1/3 innings.

        Dr. William Raasch, the Brewers physician, said Neugebauer's shoulder strength was good and that he was cleared to throw in the bullpen on Wednesday. Neugebauer had arthroscopic surgery on Sept. 19, 2001 to repair a slight labrum tear and a partial rotator cuff tear.

Rijo, bullpen make amends

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