Ten weeks of progress at Richmond didn't do anything for Chuck James on Friday night, when the Braves left-hander got lit up again in his return to the majors.

James gave up six runs and two homers in 2 2/3 innings of a 9-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in a series opener at Turner Field, where the free-falling Braves lost for the 16th time in 23 home games.

"It all starts with pitching, and we just didn't do it," said manager Bobby Cox, whose fourth-place Braves have allowed 62 runs during a 1-6 skid. "Chuck had some of the best velocity I've seen him have, but no location at all."

James (2-4) said after allowing five runs and three homers in four innings of a May 15 loss at Philadelphia that he felt as though he needed to re-learn how to pitch, that he felt that lost on the mound.

In the left-hander's first major-league start since then, he couldn't throw strikes or get a grip on his slider, a pitch he had used effectively in recent weeks at Class AAA Richmond.

"Just one of those things where I couldn't get settled down, couldn't find the strike zone," said James, whose ERA climbed to 9.47 ERA in six starts as his homer total jumped to nine in 26 2/3 innings.

While James was stumbling, veteran Jeff Suppan (6-7) held the injury-depleted Braves to five hits in seven innings for his second win in his past seven starts. He had 9.10 ERA and .338 opponents' average in six before Friday.

The Braves loaded the bases on three walks in the fourth inning, but Greg Norton flied out to end the inning. That was about it for scoring opportunities.

Suppan needed only 13 pitches to get through his last two innings.

The Brewers peppered James for two runs in the first inning and one in the second before pounding three runs on two homers in the third. James was pulled with two outs in the third after walking the last two batters he faced.

It's been a difficult season for the Mableton native, who was diagnosed with a partial rotator-cuff tear in October that necessitated rest all winter and put him behind other Braves pitchers when spring training began.

He won 11 games in his first two seasons in the majors, but James' future now seems uncertain. He said he just wants to get to the offseason to rest his shoulder after taking anti-inflammatories most of the year and throwing what has felt like "a billion pitches" working to iron out flaws in his delivery.

He has allowed only two fewer homers than Tim Hudson's team-high total of 11. Startling, considering Hudson has pitched 115 1/3 more innings than James.

Braves rookie Jair Jurrjens has allowed eight homers in 132 1/3 innings.

Atlanta's team ERA, which ranked among the National League leaders for most of the season, has taken a beating in the past week, beginning last weekend with two losses at Philadelphia that quashed hopes of a Braves resurgence.

The Braves blew leads of six and five runs in those games, and those losses and mounting injuries convinced Braves officials there was little realistic chance of reeling in the three teams ahead of them in the NL East standings.

The Braves traded slugger Mark Teixeira to the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday for first baseman Casey Kotchman, who was 1-for-3 with a single and walk Friday after going 0-for-9 in his first two games for the Braves.

A crowd of 32,238 saw the regularly scheduled Friday night postgame fireworks show — and also witnessed a pair of lasers from Milwaukee hitters in the third inning as James' long-ball nightmare resumed.

Prince Fielder hit a towering solo homer, and LaGrange native Mike Cameron added a two-run, two-out shot in the three-run inning to give the Brewers a 6-0 lead on the way to snapping their five-game losing skid.

James was charged with six hits and four walks with two strikeouts. He is 0-3 with an 11.37 ERA in his past three starts, and he has surrendered five homers and nine walks in 6-2/3 innings over his past two starts.

In 15 games since July 31, 2007, he's 5-6 with a 7.29 ERA, and in that span James has allowed a staggering 24 homers in 70 1/3 innings.