MILWAUKEE -- The Braves don’t have to face Yovani Gallardo too often, and for that they should be thankful.
The Milwaukee right-hander threw a two-hitter in a 1-0 Brewers win Tuesday night at Miller Park, snapping Derek Lowe’s six-start winning streak.
It was the first win of the season for the Brewers (1-4), and evened the four-game series at a game apiece.
“[Gallardo] gets all the credit," Lowe said of his counterpart. "I mean, he gets a hit, scores the run, throws a shutout. That’s a pretty good day."
The Braves (3-2) failed to advance a runner into scoring position for the second night in a row against the Brewers, and Gallardo improved to 3-0 with an 0.96 ERA in five career starts against Atlanta.
"From the way he’s pitched the last few years, I think he’s really flown under the radar," Braves center fielder Nate McLouth said of Gallardo, a first-time All-Star in 2010. "I think you’ve got to mention him up there with all the elite pitchers. He’s really good.”
“He wasn’t striking out everybody tonight like you’ve seen before. He just did it different ways. He made his pitches. There weren’t a lot of hard outs, either. He just pitched a really good game.”
Gallardo had two walks and uncharacteristically low two strikeouts in his third career shutout and fourth complete game. A 2010 Silver Slugger award winner as the National League's best-hitting pitcher, Gallardo hit a bloop single in the third inning between first and second bases, just beyond the glove of diving second baseman Dan Uggla.
He would eventually score on a two-out single by Ryan Braun.
“It’s weird that you’re sitting here talking about a hit [by] the pitcher," Lowe said. "But [the pitch] wasn’t very good. It was kind of a hanging breaking ball. That’s why we threw so many, because he’s a legit hitter.
“But sometimes you just get out-pitched. That’s going to happen. There’s really nothing you can do. He’s one of the elite pitchers in the league, and he showed it.”
The Braves came from behind Monday to win 2-1 on a pair of eighth-inning solo homers by Martin Prado and Uggla, after getting to the Brewers’ bullpen. They did not get to the bullpen Tuesday.
“Man, oh, man, back-to-back nights," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "You’ve got to tip your cap to Gallardo. I mean, he was good. He was really, really good. And D-Lowe was real good also.
“Gallardo started that rally. He scored a run and he finished the game. He did everything today."
Lowe (1-1) was charged with one run, five hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in six innings. He threw 108 pitches, including 80 in the first four innings. Gallardo went nine innings in 111 pitches (65 strikes).
Lowe had been 6-0 with a 0.99 ERA in six starts dating to the beginning of September, and had won three consecutive starts against the Brewers, who also snapped the Braves’ five-game winning streak at Miller Park.
Remarkably, the Braves have had no at-bats with runners in scoring position through two games in the series, after totaling five extra-base hits in an 11-2 rout of the Nationals at Washington on Sunday.
“We’re still kind of getting our feet wet as an offense," third baseman Chipper Jones said. "We haven’t played together all that much. When the top of the lineup gets going, the offense will follow. When we get [Martin] Prado and Nate [McLouth] and myself out there [on t he bases] quite a bit, that’s when we’re going to score a lot of runs.”
Uggla hit a leadoff single in the eighth inning Tuesday, then was caught stealing second base when he was tagged after sliding past the bag.
Gallardo faced only three batters in eight of nine innings. The Braves got a one-out single by McLouth in the first inning, then Jones grounded into a double play. They got a leadoff walk by Prado in the fourth inning, then McLouth grounded into a double play.
“Yeah, that caught-stealing [by Uggla] was kind of unfortunate," McLouth said. "I think it was a hit-and-run, but I’m not sure. [He was correct; it was.] And they got two double plays, myself and Chipper. The little trouble he did get in, he pitched his way out of nicely.”
Jason Heyward had a two-out single in the fifth, the only inning in which the Braves sent four batters to the plate.
The Brewers had a chance to add more runs in the eighth inning after a leadoff triple by Nyjer Morgan on a ball that center fielder McLouth and right fielder Heyward both lost in the lights, according to Gonzalez.
After lefty Eric O'Flaherty intentionally walked Ryan Braun to put runners on the corners with none out, he induced a fielder’s choice grounder by Prince Fielder to Uggla, who threw home to cut down the speedy Morgan for the first out.
They got the second out when left fielder Prado made a strong throw to the plate and catcher Brian McCann made a great tag on Braun trying to score on Casey McGehee’s single.
"Give credit to O’Flaherty, getting out of the bottom of that eighth inning with first-and-third and nobody out, keeping it a one-run ballgame," Gonzalez said. "And the way we swing the bats, you feel good going in the ninth inning.”
In most cases, perhaps.
But not with Gallardo coming back out with a chance to complete the shutout. He got a standing ovation from the crowd as he jogged from the dugout to the mound, then set the Braves down in order on a Hinske strikeout and consecutive groundouts.
“You can stomach it a little more as an offense when you know you’re up there putting good wood on the ball, as opposed to striking out," Jones said. "I mean, striking out leaves a sour taste in our mouths, and against the power pitchers that’s what you preach – put the ball in play. Because the more times you put the ball in play against a power pitcher, the more times you’ve got a chance to put balls in the gap and out of the ballpark.
“But he kept the ball down really well. It was down on the outer half. I mean, he pitched guys differently. He pitched Nate … jammed him in all night. Threw me away all night. Mixed it up with some guys. He was on top of it.”
