"I can't put him out there in April, three days in a row, and have something happen," Macha said. "He hadn't even been in a game two days in a row until (Tuesday)."

Macha said he wasn't sure how many appearances Hoffman would have to compile before he'd allow him to go more than two days in a row.

"That's hard to say right now," Macha said. "It depends on the situation."

In the meantime, Macha said relievers such as Villanueva, Todd Coffey, Mark DiFelice and Mitch Stetter will benefit from doing late-inning work in Hoffman's absence.

"That can only help those guys down the line," Macha said. "They have the experience doing it now and know they can do it. That should be of great benefit to them."

With Hoffman handling the ninth inning, Coffey and Villanueva are expected to slot in front of him in the seventh and eighth innings, depending on availability and matchups.

BREWERS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 1: The Brewers weathered six dominating innings by Arizona starter Max Scherzer and got into Arizona's bullpen to win the game with four runs in the seventh. Scherzer blanked the Brewers for six innings and overpowered them with his fastball, but RHP Jeff Suppan kept his team in the game.

Suppan allowed a leadoff homer by Felipe Lopez to open the game but didn't yield another run in his 6 1/3 innings. The bullpen, which has been very good of late, blanked Arizona the rest of the way, with RHP Trevor Hoffman picking up his second save in two chances.

CF Mike Cameron had another big night with three hits, including two doubles, the last of which knocked in two runs in the four-run rally in the seventh. The Brewers won without hitting a home run for the first time this season.