Gallardo pitches and hits the Brewers past the Pirates <h3>MILWAUKEE 3, PITTSBURGH 2</h3>By Nick Berenz PA Sportsticker Contributing Writer MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- After losing a tough series against the topteam in the National League Central, the Milwaukee Brewersbounced back against the division's worst. Rookie Yovani Gallardo pitched a season-high seven innings andalso hit his second home run of the season as the Brewers posteda 3-2 victory Friday over the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates. Corey Hart went 2-for-3 and drove in a pair of runs forMilwaukee (67-67), which closed within 1 1/2 games of thedivision-leading Chicago Cubs (68-65). Chicago lost, 6-1, tothe Houston Astros on Friday afternoon. Pittsburgh has dropped three straight to remain in the NLCentral cellar. Gallardo (6-4), who retired 16 of the first 17 batters he faced,allowed two runs, six hits and walk. It was a much betterperformance for the 21-year-old than his recent starts, as hehad lost three of four while surrendering 23 runs in 17 2/3innings. The rookie helped his own cause with his second home run in hislast three outings. Gallardo is now hitting .275 (8-for-29) onthe season. The Brewers got on the board early against Pirates starter TonyArmas Jr. thanks to the combination of Gabe Gross and Hart.Gross had doubles in the first and third innings, with Hartdriving him in both times with a sacrifice fly and a double,respectively, to stake Milwaukee to an early 2-0 lead. Trailing, 3-1, the Pirates threatened in the seventh. After adouble by Ronny Paulino scored Adam LaRoche, the Brewersintentionally walked Jack Wilson to load the bases with one out. Manager Ned Yost chose to stick with Gallardo rather than handthe ball to his struggling bullpen, and the righthander rewardedhim by striking out the next two batters to escape the inningwith the lead intact. Derrick Turnbow pitched the eighth before closer FranciscoCordero worked a perfect ninth for his 38th save of the season. Despite owning the worst record in the division, the Piratesposted 17 wins in August, the most the team has won in a monthsince 1992. The team also led all major league clubs with 182runs in August, the most since it scored 185 in August 1947. LaRoche went 3-for-4, including his 20th home run of the seasonin the fourth inning. He has hit safely in 16 of his last 18games. Armas (2-5) took the loss despite allowing just three runs andfour hits in six innings. It was his first career loss to theBrewers in five starts.
Gallardo pitches and hits the Brewers past the Pirates <h3>MILWAUKEE 3, PITTSBURGH 2</h3>By Nick Berenz PA Sportsticker Contributing Writer MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- After losing a tough series against the topteam in the National League Central, the Milwaukee Brewersbounced back against the division's worst. Rookie Yovani Gallardo pitched a season-high seven innings andalso hit his second home run of the season as the Brewers posteda 3-2 victory Friday over the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates. Corey Hart went 2-for-3 and drove in a pair of runs forMilwaukee (67-67), which closed within 1 1/2 games of thedivision-leading Chicago Cubs (68-65). Chicago lost, 6-1, tothe Houston Astros on Friday afternoon. The Brewers had lost two of three to the Cubs prior to the startof this series. Pittsburgh has dropped three straight to remain in the NLCentral cellar. Gallardo (6-4), who retired 16 of the first 17 batters he faced,allowed two runs, six hits and walk. It was a much betterperformance for the 21-year-old than his recent starts, as hehad lost three of four while surrendering 23 runs in 17 2/3innings. The rookie helped his own cause with his second home run in hislast three outings. Gallardo is now hitting .275 (8-for-29) onthe season. His solo blast with two outs in the bottom of the fourth gavehis club a 3-1 advantage. "That was a tough blow, but it's part of the game," Piratespitcher Tony Armas Jr. said. "The pitch got away from me.Gallardo did his job and I paid for it." The Brewers got on the board early against Armas thanks to thecombination of Gabe Gross and Hart. Gross had doubles in thefirst and third innings, with Hart driving him in both timeswith a sacrifice fly and a double, respectively, to stakeMilwaukee to an early 2-0 lead. "For a change, everything went according to the script," Grosssaid. Trailing, 3-1, the Pirates threatened in the seventh. After adouble by Ronny Paulino scored Adam LaRoche, the Brewersintentionally walked Jack Wilson to load the bases with one out. "Yovani got into a little trouble in the seventh, but I had nointention of taking him out," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. Yost's inclination to stick with Gallardo rather than hand theball to his struggling bullpen was a key to the game. Therighthander rewarded him by striking out pinch hitter JoshPhelps and Nate McLouth to escape the inning with the leadintact. "When McLouth struck out, that really pumped me up, more thanthe home run," Gallardo said. "Gallardo looked like he found a little different gear becausethose might have been the best pitches he threw in the seveninnings he was out there," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said. Derrick Turnbow pitched the eighth before closer FranciscoCordero worked a perfect ninth for his 38th save of the season. "Both Turnbow and Coco (Cordero) were sharp and we were able toclaw out a win," Yost said. Despite owning the worst record in the division, the Piratesposted 17 wins in August, the most the team has won in a monthsince 1992. The team also led all major league clubs with 182runs in August, the most since it scored 185 in August 1947. LaRoche went 3-for-4, including his 20th home run of the seasonin the fourth inning. He has hit safely in 16 of his last 18games. Armas (2-5) took the loss despite allowing just three runs andfour hits in six innings. It was his first career loss to theBrewers in five starts.
