All of the Milwaukee Brewers fans out there can now let out a sigh of relief as the team finally pulled out their first win of the season. After starting the season at 0-4, the Brewers blanked the Atlanta Braves 1-0 on Tuesday night.
While the bats were still not there, young hurler Yovani Gallardo pitched a masterpiece. His complete game shut-out/two-hitter may have been exactly what the Brewers needed.
By: Nick Grays
Entering the ninth inning, Gallardo’s pitch-count was at a staggering 98 pitches. That left first-year Manager Ron Roenicke with a tough decision on whether to send Yo back out there or go with closer John Axford who blew a save on Opening Day.
Even though his decision turned out to be the right one, Gallardo retired the side and ended at 111 pitches, it raised a few eyebrows in the process.
Firstly, the number of pitches was relatively high considering it’s only his second start of the year. The Brewers already have Zack Greinke on the DL and there are rumors that Shaun Marcum may not be 100% after his mediocre debut last week.
And secondly, it would have been a nice spot to have Axford regain any lost confidence from his blown save against the Reds.
Despite these concerns, I believe Roenicke made the right move because this is a Brewers team with awfully high expectations. A few more losses, compounded from being at home, may have sent this franchise into a tailspin.
Axford will have many chances to regain his confidence on the mound as the season is young and Gallardo has proved in the past that he can go the distance and have it have no effect on his next start.
Plus, Gallardo said after the game that there was no way he wasn’t finishing the game, even though we know a Manager can change that very quickly.
“Honestly, I was going to go out there no matter what,” said Gallardo. “I wasn’t going to let them take me out of the game.”
Gallardo’s attitude and work ethic shows me that he doesn’t want to be second to anyone, including the newly-acquired Greinke. If he can keep going out there and playing his game, he surely will hold on to that title as the Brew Crew’s ace.
Hot-hitting outfielder Ryan Braun, who had the game’s only RBI, has also noticed the change in his teammate.
“He’s been dominant since day one of spring training. I feel like he’s come in with just a different focus, a different intensity level. It’s special to watch when he’s throwing the ball that well,” said Braun.
By the way, the one run scored by the Brewers came from Gallardo himself who reached on a single in the bottom of third inning, the team’s first hit of the game off of the Braves Derek Lowe.
What did you think of Gallardo’s performance on Tuesday night? Will the Brewers offense come around or are they going to struggle for a while? Let me know by commenting below.
Nick Grays is a senior editor at the Sports Bank where he covers the Wisconsin Badgers, Green Bay Packers, Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Brewers. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here or visit his blog Nick Knows Best.