The Pirates got their first glance at the future star of the Brewers’ rotation for the next 6 years…and they probably didn’t like what they saw. Yovani Gallardo stymied Pittsburgh in his first career start against them, holding them to only a pair of runs in the first 6 IP, and then bouncing back and striking out the last two batters in the 7th with the bases loaded, to up his mark 6-4, 4,66 with a 3-2 victory. With the Cubs’ loss, the TBBC move up to 1½ back of the Cubs for first place in the NL Central. The Brewers’ offense was anemic against Tony Armas, Jr.–the Crew only pounded out 5 base knocks on the night, and only 4 off of Armas…and only of those was a Gallardo home run to help his cause. Also, on the day before roster expansion and the setting of the playoff roster (yeah, probably cursing the Crew by bringing this up, but, hey, it’s been 20 years since we can actually talk about it without sounding like a nincompoop), Manny Parra was sent to the 15-day DL…no worries, as players on the DL at the time can be added to playoff rosters, I believe. Parra joins Claudio Vargas, who went on the DL on Tuesday with back pains, meaning the Crew is back down to four starters in the rotation (Sheets, Suppan, Gallardo, and Bush) currently; Greg Aquino was added to the 25-man a day early, but will likely be used only in relief. Joe DiGiovanni of MLB.com reported that Carlos Villanueva and Spurling are likely to re-join the Brewers on Saturday when rosters can expand, as would 2-3 others, with Villanueva penciled in to start on Tuesday versus the Astros.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
